
Class. 

Book. J2_£l 

Copyright If 

COFYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



To correct Misrepresentation, we adopt Self -representation." 

— John Taylor. 



MORMONISM. 



/#/ 



THE RED A TION OF THE CHURCH TO CHRISTIAN SECTS 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH 



CHURCH ORGANIZATION 



PRESENT STATUS. 



By 
B. H. ROBERTS. 

Published by The Church. 



DESERET NEWS PRINT, SALT LAKE CITY. 



-pit 






the library of 
congress, 

Two Copies Received 

, MAR 23 1903 

'] Copyngnt Lntry 
CLASS V 0^ XXc. No 
•'COPY B. 




Copyrighted 
by 

JOSEPH F. SMITH, 

for 
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 



MORMONISM. 



A WORD WITH THE READER. 



THIS brochure is issued under the authority of the Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is, therefore, an 
authoritative utterance upon the subject of which it treats— The 
Relation of the Church to the Christian Sects — Its Origin 
— Its History — Its Doctrine — Its Organization— Its Present 
Status. It will be seen at a glance that the limitations of this 
tract permit only the most summary treatment of the subjects 
named. The story of the origin and progress of Mormonism 
must be told in headlines; its doctrines and the organization of 
the Church must be set forth in simple and direct state- 
ments. Clearly there is no opportunity for argument to main- 
tain the reasonableness of the Church's position with reference 
to Christendom; nor the truth of her doctrines. For all that the 
reader is referred to the more pretentious works of hex writers 
such as Parley P. Pratt's "Voice of Warning" and "Key to 
Theology;" "Orson Pratt's Works;" "The Articles of Faith," by 
Dr. James E. Talmage; "The Gospel," and "A New Witness for 
God," by the writer of this tract. All that is aimed at here is 
to give the merest outline of the few subjects already enumer- 
ated; and yet in some sense make the treatise cover the whole 
subject about which you are so anxious to obtain information. 
A word respecting your present understanding of MQrmon- 
ism, and your prejudices against it. Whence have you 
derived your present information on the subject? Doubtless 
from anti-Mormon sources only. Have you stopped to think 
what that means? Do you know that there is not an anti- 



2 MORMONISM. 

Mormon book in existence that is not altogether unreliable 
because of its intense prejudice upon the subject, or because 
the writer has deliberately set before himself the task of 
defaming the Latter-day Saints and their faith? It may sound 
harsh, this last statement, but it is true. Of the many books 
written against Mormonism, such as have not been written 
by avowed enemies, have been written by sensational writers, 
who chose Mormonism for a subject because in it they sup- 
posed they had a theme that would be agreeable to their own 
vicious tastes and perverted talents, and which, at the same 
time, would give satisfactory returns in money for their labor. 
These writers have not only written without regard to 
truth, but without shame. They have preyed upon the mis- 
fortunes of an unpopular people solely for the money or noto- 
riety they could make out of the enterprise. Whether year 
"knowledge" of Mormonism comes from the works of avowed 
enemies of the Church, or from these sensational writers, you 
must admit that in either case your source of "information" 
is untrustworthy. 

That I may not appear as standing alone in making these 
statements about the unreliability of anti-Mormon literature 
and that you may have also the testimony of one who is not a 
Mormon, I here introduce the testimony of Mr. Phil Robin- 
son, so long connected with the London Telegraph as its war 
correspondent during the first Boer war in South Africa. Mr. 
Robinson came to Utah in 1882 as a special correspondent of 
The New York World, and remained in Utah some five or six 
months, making Mormonism and the Latter-day Saints a 
special study. He published the results of his investigation in 
a book entitled "Sinners and Saints;" and on the untrust worth- 
iness of anti-Mormon literature he says: 

"Whence have tbe public derived their opinions about Mor- 
monism? From anti-Mormons only. I have ransacked the 
literature of the subject, and yet I really could not tell any 
one where to go for an impartial book about Mormonism later 
in date than Burton's 'City of the Saints/ published in 1862. 
Burton, it is well known, wrote as a man of wide travel and 



A WORD WITH THE READER. 6 

liberal education — catholic, therefore, on all matters religious, 
and generous in his views of ethical obliquities, sympathetic, 
consistent, and judicial. It is no wonder, then, that Mormons 
remember the distinguished traveller, in spite of his candor, 
with the utmost kindness. But put Burton on one side, and I 
think I can defy any one to name another book about the Mor- 
mons worthy of honest respect. ***** There 
is not to my knowledge, a single Gentile work before the pub- 
lic that is not utterly unreliable from its distortion of facts." 

After deploring the one-sidedness of the representation that 
Mormonism had received before the American public up to a 
very few years ago — so few that the implied change has come 
since the publication of Mr. Robinson's book, 1883 — he adds, in 
speaking of conditions that obtained at the time in which he 
wrote: 

"The American public cannot be expected to know that three 
or four individuals, all of them by their own confession 'Mor- 
mon-eaters', have from the first been the purveyors of nearly 
all the distorted facts it receives. Seeing the same thing said 
in many different directions, the general public naturally con- 
clude that a great number of persons are in agreement as to 
the facts. But the exigencies of journalism which admit, for 
instance, of the same correspondent being a local contributor 
to two or three score newspapers of widely different views 
in politics and religion, are unknown to them. And they are 
therefore unaware that the indignation so widely printed 
throughout America has its scource in the personal animosity 
of three or four individuals only who are bitter sectarians, and 
that these men are actually personally ignorant of the country 
they live in, have seldom talked to a Mormon, and have never 
visited Mormonism outside Salt Lake City. These men write of 
the 'squalid poverty' of Mormons, of their obscene brutality, 
of their unceasing treason toward the United States, of their 
blasphemous repudiation of the Bible, without one particle of 
information on the subject, except such as they gather from 
the books and writings of men whom they ought to know are 
utterly unworthy of credit, or from the verbal calumnies of 
apostates. And what the evidence of apostates is worth his- 
tory has long ago told us. I am now stating facts; and I, 
who have lived among the Mormons and with them, who have 
seen them in their homes, rich and poor; have joined in their 
worship, public and private; who have constantly conversed 



4 MORMONISM. 

with them, men, women and children; who have visited their 
out-lying settlements, large and small — as no Gentile has ever 
done before me — can assure my readers that every day of my 
residence increased my regret at the misrepresentation these 
people have suffered." 

No prejudice is so cruel as that growing out of religious 
controversy, The most cruel wars have risen through a deter- 
mination to resist religious innovations or through efforts to 
reform religious systems. The acts of inhuman cruelty, which 
most disgrace our race, have been perpetrated in vain endeavors 
to suppress what have been considered heresies, and silence 
their advocates. In short, the most unrelenting hatred, the 
most lasting prejudices have grown out of differences in religi- 
ous opinions. The Messiah, doubtless, was guided as much by 
His knowledge of human nature as He was by inspiration when 
He exclaimed: 

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came 
not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at 
variance against his father, and the daughter against her 
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." * 

-Not that Jesus in these words authorized His disciples to pro- 
mulgate His doctrine by the sword: He merely prophesied what 
would be the result of the proclamation of His religion. Sub- 
sequent events prove not only the truth of His prediction, but 
also that the "sword" was in the hands of those who opposed the 
Christian religion, not in the hands of those who advocated it. 

It is because Mormonism involves a religious controversy 
that the prejudices against it are so deep seated, and the 
misrepresentation of its devotees so persistent. Joseph Smith, 
in his youth, announced a new revelation from God; and as the 
Christian world had been, and are, taught that no more revela- 
tion is to be given, that the Bible contains all that God ever 
did, and all that He ever will reveal to man, the proclamation 
that God had again spoken aroused the ire of the religious 



Matt. x. 81-83. 



A WORD WITH THE READER. 5 

teachers of that day; and when, in spite of their efforts to stay 
its progress, they saw the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 
day Saints increasing in numbers and influence, these pseudo- 
religious teachers sought to overwhelm with falsehood, mis- 
representations, and slander what they could not overcome 
with reason and Scripture. And the absurd, childish stories 
then invented by religious opponents of Mormonism are still 
rehashed with variations to suit ever shifting conditions, the 
mass constantly growing as fast as new falsehoods or dis- 
torted facts can be marshaled into service. As a result of such 
misrepresentations the Latter-day Saints have become the one 
people of modern times that are everywhere spoken against. 
But this universal denunciation of a people and their religion 
should not prejudice your mind, Dear Reader, to that extent that 
you will not give a patient hearing to any w r ord they may 
speak in their own behalf. Nay, reason and common fairness 
would suggest that all the more, on account of the things 
spoken against them and their doctrines, you should avail 
yourself of the opportunity to hear what they say of themselves 
and their religion. 



THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CHURCH 



THE RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO CHRISTIAN SECTS. 

To clearly understand the relation of Mormonism to 
the Christian sects it is necessary to sta-te the claims of 
the principal churches with reference to the Christian religion, 
and the church which was founded by the personal ministry of 
Jesus Christ and His apostles. 

Roman Catholic Church. 
Taking them in the order of their importance, we first con- 
sider the claim of the Roman Catholic Church. According to 
those who are competent to speak for her, the Roman Church 
claims to be the very Church which Christ and His apostles 
founded; that she, the Roman Catholic Church, is the very 
Church of Christ perpetuated through all the centuries since 
the ascension of Messiah until now. Her claims upon this 
head are thus stated by the Rt. Rev. Lawrence Scanlan, Bishop 
of Salt Lake: 

"She from the very beginning, from the ascension of Christ, 
up to the present, has always and everywhere asserted, taught 
and defended that she is that self-same, identical Church which 
ChristHimself built upon the rock, and against which, as He 
declared, the gates of hell could not prevail; and consequently 
to her, the Catholic Church, rightfully belongs all those marks, 
powers, properties and prerogatives which, as we have seen, 
characterized the Church of Christ. ****** 
It is, therefore, at least encouraging to humanity as well as 
creditable to Christ, that there has ever existed sinceH is time 
a Church publicly asserting and maintaining, very often at a 
terrible cost to herself, that she is His Church. If the Catho- 
lic Church be not that founded by Christ, then it will be ex- 
tremely difficult, nay, impossible, to show that any other 
church is His, and consequently, His Church must have failed 
and the gates of hell, contrary to His promise, must have pre- 
vailed against it." 



TO CHRISTIAN SECTS. 7 

The Greek Catholic Church. 

The position of the Greek Catholic or Eastern Church is 
stated by the Most Rev. Dionysios Latas, Archbishop of Zante, 
who represented the Greek Church at the Parliament of Relig- 
ions, held in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition 
at Chicago, in 1893. The Archbishop, outlining the propo- 
sitions he expected to prove in his treatise on the Greek Church, 
names the following as the third proposition: 

"The Greeks immediately after the coming of Christ under- 
took to develop Christendom and form and systematize the 
Christian Church, which is the church of the East, the primi- 
tive church, which for this reason may be called the mother of 
Christian Churches, and consequently the church in which the 
first doctrines and the fundamental Christian truths are kept in 
store, pure and chaste, from which all good was to originate in 
this world, and on which the happiness of the nations is con- 
sequently based." 

After an elaborate discourse tending to prove the foregoing, 
he concludes: 

"It suffices me to say that no one of you, I think, will deny 
in the presence of these historical documents that the original 
Christian Church was the Greek Church, which for this reason 
may be called the mother of Christian Churches. * * * 
Lastly, the Greek Christian Church may be the treasury, as one 
may say, of the sound Christian doctrines, of the infallible 
evangelical truths, in other words it may be the ark which 
bears the spiritual manna and feeds all those who wish to come 
to it in order to obtain from it the ideas and unmistakable 
reasonings on every Christian doctrine, on every evangelical 
truth, and on every ecclesiastical tradition." 

This clearly proves that the Greek Catholic Church disputes 
the claims of the Roman Catholic Church to being the primitive 
church of the Messiah, and demands the honor for herself. 

The Protestant Churches. 

The Anglican Episcopal Church claims to be, if not the only 
and true successor of the church founded by Christ and His 
apostles, at least a branch of that Apostolic and Catholic 



8 THE RELATIONSHIP OP THE CHURCH 

Church. In an article prepared for the express purpose of 
setting forth the claims of the Anglican Church, an accredited 
representative* of that church says: 

"She belives the church is a divine institution — not merely a 
philosophy or a theory but an institution — that it has a body 
as well as a soul, and that this body is 'born not of blood nor of 
the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God'. There 
are three branches of the Christian Church in the world to-day 
holding this latter theory. The Greek Church, * * * 
the Roman Catholic Church, * * * and the Anglican 
Church, which claims to be a branch of the One Holy Catholic 
( i. e. universal ) and Apostolic Church founded by the Lord 
Jesus Christ Himself. The Anglican Church also claims to be 
peculiarly the Church for English speaking people." 

The Anglican Church disclaims that she had her origin in the 
revolt of Henry VIII from the authority of the Pope; she 
claims apostolic origin and independence as a church before 
the corning of the missionaries from the Pope, who did not 
arrive in Britain until toward the close of the sixth century. 

For the rest of Protestant Christendom it is enough to say 
that none of these churches can establish any claim to existence 
beyond the period of "Reformation" of the sixteenth cen- 
tury, or the men with whom they originated: the Lutheran 
Church with Martin Luther; the Presbyterian, with Calvin; the 
Methodist, with Wesley, and so on. Even the Greek church 
cannot deny that once — for several hundred years — it was in 
communion with the See of Rome, but became separated. The 
same is true of the Anglican Episcopal Church, and this fact 
somewhat destroys the force of the claims made by these two 
great divisions of Christendom to either being the original 
church or a branch of the original church. So that setting 
aside all details concerning the matter, the general situation 
concerning this broken and disunited Christendom may be 
broadly stated thus: Jesus of Nazareth and the apostles whom 
He called to the ministry established a church, of which the 
Roman Catholic Church claims to be the successor. All other 

* This refers to Key. J. B. Haisey, of Salt Lake City. 



TO CHRISTIAN SECTS. 9 

churches, including both the Greek and the Anglican Churches, 
believe that in time abuses crept into the church; that there 
were changes in the sacraments, departures from the spirit of 
Christ's church government, and other alter ations in doc- 
trines which justified them in their several acts of separation 
from the Roman Church. Indeed, the Anglican Church herself, 
speaking authoritatively, says that — 

"Laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages and sects 
and degrees, have been drowned" in abominable idolatry, most 
detested by God and damnable to men, for eight hundred years 
and more!"* 

Wesley also clearly states the apostate condition of the 
church in the early Christian centuries by saying that the 
reason why the spiritual gifts, so abundantly enjoyed by Chris- 
tians in the primitive church, were not to be found in latter 
times was because "the love of many, almost all Christians, 
so-called, was waxed cold, and Christians had no more of the 
spirit of Christ than the other heathens. The Son of Man, when 
he came to examine his church, could hardly find faith upon 
earth;" which apostate condition, it is reasonable to presume, 
justified in the mind of Mr. Wesley, the establishment of the 
church which bears his name. Such then is the condition of 
divided Christendom. 

With these schisms and questions and differences existing 
between the parts of divided Christendom we have noth- 
ing further to do here than to state those conditions, that 
the relation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
Saints to them may be made clear. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

The position of this Church may be best set forth by quoting 
the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith on the 
occasion of the youthful prophet's first great vision and revela- 
tion, given in answer to his earnest prayer to know which of 
all the religions was true; which of the contending sects was 

* Church of England Homily, "Perils of Idolatry" p. 3. 



10 THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CHURCH 

the acknowledged church of Christ; that he might know which 
to join. The answer of the Lord to these earnest inquiries, as 
will appear in the account of the origin of Mormonism, was: 
He must join none of them; they were all wrong; their creeds 
were an abomination in His sight; the professors thereof were 
corrupt; they drew near to the Lord with their lips, but their 
hearts were far from Him; they taught for doctrines the com- 
mandments of men, having a form of godliness but denying the 
power thereof. 

Subsequently, and in fulfillment of promises then made, 
further revelations were given, including divine appointment 
and commission to the Prophet Joseph Smith and others to 
organize the Church, and teach the true gospel of Jesus Christ 
to all the world. 

It will thus be seen that the Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-day Saints is not a new church; that the religion it 
teaches is not a new religion. But men having departed from 
the religion of Jesus Christ, having transgressed its laws, 
changed its ordinances or sacraments, and broken its covenant, 
a new dispensation of that true religion, including divine 
authority to teach it and administer its sacraments through 
which salvation is brought to man, became necessary. The 
Church, then, the "Morman Church" as it is improperly called, 
and the religion it teaches, did not come into existence simply 
because the instrument who founded it had some different con- 
ception of church government from some other religious 
teachers; some different views of the manner in which, or the 
purpose for which baptism should be administered. It did not 
come into existence simply because those who founded it had 
different views concerning the nature or personality of God, or 
the relation of man to Him, or differences of opinion about 
His decrees, or the manner in which the salvation of man was 
to be effected, whether solely by the grace of God or a union 
of the grace of God and the efforts of man. Its existence 
rests upon so much paltry excuse. It came into being because 
there was a stern, absolute necessity for its existence. Because 



TO CHRISTIAN SECTS. 11 

all the world had wandered from God and religious teachers 
were without authority from Him; because the gospel of Jesus 
Christ had been taken from the earth; because the church of 
Christ had been destroyed from among men, and the only way 
in which either the one or the other could be re-established on 
earth was by a re-opening of the heavens and a restoration of 
the religion and Church of Jesus Christ by a new revelation 
from God. 

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ, then, is the claim which 
Mormonism makes for itself. The re-established Church of 
Jesus Christ, or The Church, is the claim made for what men 
call the "Mormon Church." We know the claim is a bold one. 
It is our pride that it is so. If its claims were less, it would 
have no right to exist. It challenges the position of all 
religions and sects. It calls for a re-examination of the foun- 
dations upon which they all stand. The Ch arch bears a mes- 
sage from God to all men, to those calling themselves Chris- 
tians as well as to the Jews and the pagans. It proclaims the 
whole world in sin, and calls upon all men to repent. It is a 
message, however, fraught with good will to mankind; its 
mission is one of peace and love; its object, the moral, tem- 
poral, and spiritual uplifting of mankind. Its achievements 
are to be brought about by teaching the truth, by persuasion, 
by reason, by patience, by long suffering, by love unfeigned. 
Truth is its only weapon; love its shield. It hopes to win its 
bloodless but glorious victories for the Lord Jesus Christ, by 
preparing the way for His reign on earth in glory. 



12 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 

The most satisfactory account of the origin of Mormonism 
that can be written is that given by Joseph Smith himself, 
and hence I here quote a brief statement on the subject pre- 
pared by the prophet in 1842, for Mr. John Wentworth, then 
the proprietor of the Chicago Democrat. The prophet's narra- 
tive extends from his own birth (1805) to the settlement of the 
Church at Nauvoo, in the State of Illinois. 

Joseph Smith's Narrative. 

"I was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor county, Ver- 
mont, on the 23d day of December, A. D. 1805. When ten 
years old my parents removed to Palmyra, New York, where 
we resided about four years, and from thence we moved to the 
town of Manchester. My father was a farmer and taught me 
the art of husbandry. When about fourteen years of age I 
began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared for a 
future state, and upon inquiring the plan of salvation I found 
that there was a great clash in religious sentiment; if I went 
to one society they referred me to one plan, and another to 
another — each one pointing to his own particular creed as the 
summum bonum of perfection. Considering that all could not 
be right, and that God could not be the author of so much con- 
fusion, I determined to investigate the subject more fully, 
believing that if God had a church it would not be split up into 
factions, and that if He taught one society to worship one way 
and administer in one set of ordinances, He would not teach 
another principles which were diametrically opposite. 

Joseph Smith's First Vision. 

"Believing the word of God, I had confidence in the declara- 
tion of James— If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 13 

that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraid eth not; and it shall 
be given him' (James i, 5). I retired to a secret place in a 
grove, and began to call upon the Lord; while fervently 
engaged in supplication my mind was taken away from the 
objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped in a 
heavenly vision and saw two glorious personages, who exactly 
resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with 
a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noonday. They told 
me that all religious denominations were believing in incorrect 
doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as 
His church and kingdom; and I was expressly commanded to 
'go not after them, 5 at the same time receiving a promise that 
the fulness of the gospel would at some future time be made 
known to me. 

The Appearing of Moroni. 

"On the evening of the 21st of September, A. D. 1823, while 
I was praying unto God and endeavoring to exercise faith in 
the precious promises of scripture, on a sudden a light like that 
of day, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance and 
brightness, burst into the room, — indeed the first sight was as 
though the house was filled with consuming fire; the appear- 
ance producing a shock that affected the whole body; in a 
moment a personage stood before me surrounded with a glory 
yet greater than that with which I was already surrounded. 
This messenger proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent 
to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant which God made 
with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled; that the pre- 
paratory work for the second coming of the Messiah was 
speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the 
gospel in all its fulness to be preached in power unto all 
nations, that a people might be prepared for the Millennial 
reign. I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument 
in the hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this 
glorious dispensation. 

The Book of Mormon. 

"I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants 



14 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 

of this country and shown who they were, and whence they 
came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws 
governments; of their righteousness and iniquity, and the 
blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people, 
was made known to me; I was also told where were deposited 
some plates on which were engraven an abridgment of the 
records of the ancient prophets that had existed on this conti- 
nent. The angel appeared to me three times the same night 
and unfolded the same things. After having received many 
visits from the angels of God unfolding the majesty and glory 
of the events that should transpire in the last days, on the 
morning of the 22d of September, A. D. 1827, the angel of 
the Lord delivered the records into my hands. 

"These records were engraven on plates which had the ap- 
pearance of gold; each plate was six inches wide and eight 
inches long, and not quite so thick as common tin. They 
were filled with engravings, in Egyptian characters, and bound 
together in a volume as the leaves of a book, with three rings 
running through the whole. The volume was something near 
six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The char- 
acters on the unsealed part were small, and beautifully engrav- 
ed. The whole book exhibited many works of antiquity in its 
construction and much skill in the art of engraving. With the 
records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients 
called 'Urim and Thummim/ which consisted of two transpar- 
ent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast-plate. 
Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated 
the record by the gift and power of God. 

"In this important and interesting book the history of ancient 
America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that 
came from the Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages, 
to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. 
We are informed by these records that America in ancient 
times had been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The 
first was called Jaredites and came directly from the Tower of 
Babel. The second race came directly from the City of Jerusa- 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 15 

lem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were prin- 
cipally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites 
were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from 
Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the coun- 
try. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle to- 
wards the close of the fourth century [A. DJ. The remnant 
are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also 
tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this conti- 
nent after His resurrection; that He planted the gospel here in 
all its fulness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that they 
had apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists; the 
same order, the same priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, 
powers, and blessings, as were enjoyed on the Eastern conti- 
nent; that the people were cut off in consequence of their 
transgressions; that the last of their prophets who existed 
among them was commanded to write an abridgment of their 
prophecies, history, etc., and to hide it up in the earth, and 
that it should come forth and be united with the Bible for the 
accomplishment of the purposes of God in the last days. For a 
more particular account I would refer to the Book of Mormon, 
which can be purchased from any of our traveling elders. 

"As soon as the news of this discovery was made known, 
false reports, misrepresentation and slander flew, as on the 
wings of the wind, in every direction ; the house was frequent- 
ly beset by mobs and evil-designing persons. Several times 
I was shot at and very narrowly escaped, and every device was 
made use of to get the plates away from me ; but the power 
and blessing of God attended me and several began to believe 
my testimony. 

Organization of the Church. 

"On the 6th of April, 1830, the 'Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-day Saints' was first organized, in the town of Fayette, 
Seneca county, State of New York. Some were called and 
ordained by the spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to 
preach as the Spirit gave them utterance, and though weak, 
yet were they strengthened by the power of God, and many 



13 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. . 

were brought to repentance, were immersed in the water, and 
were filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. 
They saw visions and prophesied, devils were cast out, and 
the sick healed by the laying on of hands. From that time the 
work roiled forth with astonishing rapidity, and churches 
w r ere soon formed in the States of New T York, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. 

Persecutions in Missouri. 

" In the last named State a considerable settlement was formed 
in Jackson county; numbers joined the Church and we were 
increasing rapidly; we made large purchases of land, our farms 
teemed with plenty, and peace and happiness were enjoyed in 
our domestic circle, and throughout our neighborhood; but as 
we could not associate with our neighbors — who were, many of 
them, the basest of men, and had fled from the face of 
civilized society to the frontier country to escape the hand of 
justice — in their midnight revels, their Sabbath-breaking, 
horse-racing and gambling; they commenced at first to ridicule, 
then to persecute, and finally an organized mob assembled and 
burned our houses, tarred and feathered and whipped many of 
our brethren, and finally drove them from their habitations; 
who, houseless and homeless, contrary to law, justice, and 
humanity, had to wander on the bleak prairies till the children 
left the tracks of their blood on the prairie. This took place 
in the month of November [1833], and they had no other cover- 
ing but the canopy of heaven in this inclement season of the 
year. This proceeding was winked at by the government, and 
although we had warrantee deeds for our land, and had vio- 
lated no lav/, we could obtain no redress. 

"There were many sick, who were thus inhumanly driven 
from their houses, and had to endure all this abuse and to seek 
homes where they could be found. The result was that a 
great many of them, being deprived of the comforts of life and 
the necessary attendance, died; many children w^ere left 
orphans; wives, widows; and husbands, widowers; our farms 
were taken possession of by the, mob, and many thousands of 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 17 

cattle, sheep, horses, and hogs were taken, and our household 
goods, store goods and printing-press and type were broken, 
taken, or otherwise destroyed. 

''Many of our brethren removed to Clay county, where they 
continued until 1836, three years; there was no violence 
offered, but there were threatenings of violence. But in the 
summer of 1836 these threatenings began to assume a more 
serious form; from threats, public meetings were called, resolu- 
tions were passed, vengeance and destruction were threatened, 
and affairs again assumed a fearful attitude. Jackson county 
was a sufficient precedent, and as the authorities in that county 
did not interfere, they [the persecutors of the Saints] boasted 
that they would not in this; which on application to the 
authorities we found to be too true, and after much violence, 
privation and loss of property, we were again driven from our 
homes. 

Expulsion from Missouri. 

"We next settled in Caldwell and Daviess counties, where we 
made large and extensive settlements, thinking to free our- 
selves from the power of oppression by settling in new counties, 
with very few inhabitants in them; but here we were not 
allowed to live in peace, but in 1838 we were again attacked 
by mobs, an exterminating order was issued by Governor Boggs, 
and under the sanction of law an organized banditti ranged 
throughout the country, robbed us of our cattle, sheep, horses, 
hogs, etc. ; many of our people were murdered in cold blood, the 
chastity of our women was violated, and we were forced to 
sign away our property at the point of the sword; and after 
enduring every indignity that could be heaped upon us by an 
inhuman, ungodly band of marauders, from twelve to fifteen 
thousand souls — men, women and children — were driven from 
their own fireside and from lands that they had warrantee- 
deeds ef, houseless, friendless and homeless (in the depth of 
winter) to wander as exiles on earth or to seek an asylum in a 
more genial clime and among a less barbarous people. Many 
sickened and died in consequence of the cold and hardships they 



18 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 

had to endure; many wives were left widows, and children 
orphans and destitute. It would take more time than is 
allotted me here to describe the injustice, the wrongs, the 
murders, the bloodshed, the theft, misery and woe thathav^ 
been caused by the barbarous inhuman and lawless proceedings 
of the State of Missouri. 

Settlement at Nauvoo. 

"In the situation before alluded to, we arrived in the State of 
Illinois, in 1839, where we found a hospitable people and a 
friendly home, a people who were willing to be governed by 
the principles of law and humanity. We have commenced to 
build a city called 'Nauvoo/ in Hancock county. We number 
from six to eight thousand here besides vast numbers in the 
country around, and in almost every county of the State." 

Events Subsequent to the Close of the Prophet's Narrative. 

The foregoing narrative by Joseph Smith brings the history 
of The Church, in outline, down to March, 1842. For more 
than two years after that the prophet continued to stand at 
the head of the institution he, under God, had founded. He 
developed its doctrines, and instructed his people therein; he 
perfected the church organization; and gave such impetus to 
the work that it could do no other than move forward though 
he himself should be stricken down. That event came all too 
soon. Notwithstanding all the advantages which came to the 
Church at Nauvoo; notwithstanding the generous reception 
given to the exiled Saints by the people of Illinois, and the 
advantages accorded to them in founding for themselves new 
homes, the same forces which opposed the Church and drove 
it from Missouri (sectarian bigotry and political jealously) 
were invoked against it in Illinois, and were destined to result 
in more serious consequences to the Church than even the 
expulsion from Missouri. Joseph Smith was continually 
harassed by his old enemies in Missouri, and repeated attempts 
were made to drag him back on one trumped up charge or 
another into that State where both he and his people had 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 19 

suffered so much injustice. Time and again was he arrested 
through the agency of these enemies; and as often was he 
released when his case came to trial. It is worthy of note, in 
passing, to call attention to the fact that out of the thirty- 
nine times he was arraigned in the courts of his country, there 
is not a single instance in which he was condemned. 

The New Dispensation, however, of which, under God, he was 
the head, must needs be attested by that final seal a prophet 
affixes to his work — the seal of martyrdom. "For where a testa- 
ment is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testa- 
tor. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise 
it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."* Hence 
sectarian hatred achieved a seeming victory. The unbroken 
record of the prophet's acquittals when tried before the courts 
of his country led to the saying among his enemies that the 
"law cannot reach this man; powder and ball must." And 
they did. Forced to Carthage, the county seat of Hancock 
county, to answer to an alleged infraction of the laws, after 
entering into satisfactory recognizance to appear before the 
proper tribunal on that charge, he was arrested under a war- 
rant accusing him of treason against the State of Illinois, and 
thrust into prison. The warrant charging treason was issued 
upon the complaint and oaths of notoriously worthless charac- 
ters; and while the prophet was thus held in prison he and his 
brother Hyrum were ruthlessly murdered by a mob in collusion 
with the very officers of the State pledged both on general 
principles and specific agreement to protect hirn pending a fair 
and speedy trial. Thomas Ford, then Governor of Illinois, and 
among the officers of the State personally pledged to the 
prophet as above stated, on this head, says: "If these men 
[Joseph and Hyrum Smith] had been the incarnation of Satan 
himself, as was believed by many, their murder was a foul 
and treacherous action, alike disgraceful to thc^e who perpe- 
trated the crime,;to the State, and to the governor, whose word 

*Heb. ix., 16, 17. 



20 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OP MORMONISM. 

had been pledged for the protection of the prisoners in jail, 
and which had been so shamefully violated." * 

Mormonism Since Joseph Smith. 

After the murder of the prophet Joseph and his brother, 
Hyrum, as may well be supposed, the Saints were stricken with 
sorrow; and for a moment some confusion was apparent as to 
what was to be done now that the great leader, whose voice, es- 
pecially in every hour of trial, had been as the voice of God to 
them, was cold in death. The work he had been founding through 
fourteen troubled years was about to be tested. Would it survive 
him? Was it possessed of those vital principles which would 
enable it to endure now that he was taken away? The fact of 
its survival in all the power and glory he had imparted to it 
proved that the work he had accomplished was greater than the 
man. The Church had been so organized that it was practically 
indestructable. Though by death and apostasy the First Presi- 
dency had been removed, there still remained the quorum of the 
Twelve Apostles holding keys of authority and power equal to 
those held by the First Presidency and therefore competent to 
do all that the First Presidency was authorized to do. This 
quorum under the leadership of President Brigham Young gave 
direction to affairs, and order and discipline were maintained, 

After the murder of the Prophet Joseph and his brother, the 
passions of the mob forces in Illinois seemed for a time to subside; 
and it was thought by some that peace would come to the 
Church. The prophet himself, however, a few days before his 
martyrdom, which occurred June 27, 1844, in a public address 
at Nauvoo, said: 

"It is thought by some that our enemies would be satisfied 
with my destruction; but I tell you that as soon as they have shed 
my blood, they will thirst for the blood of every man in whose 
heart dwells a single spark of the spirit of the fulness of the 
Gospel. The opposition of these men is moved by the spirit of 



*Ford's History of Illinois, p. 857. 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 21 

the adversary of all righteousness. It is not only to destroy 
me, but every man and woman who dares believe the doctrines 
that God hath inspired me to teach in this generation." 

The truth of this prophecy was soon verified. The hatred 
which had prompted the killing of Joseph Smith soon extended 
to the whole Church, and in less than two years from the 
martyrdom of their prophet leader, mob violence against the 
Saints had so far prevailed over constituted authority in Illi- 
nois that they were compelled to seek a home beyond the con- 
fines of the United States, 

Nor had the spirit of prophecy which characterized Joseph 
Smith permitted this circumstance in the career of the Church 
to escape prognostication. Under date of August 6th, 1842, 
he recorded in his journal the following: 

"Passed over to Montrose, Iowa, (a village opposite Nauvoo) in 
company with General Adams, Colonel Brewer, and others, and 
witnessed the installation of the officers of the Rising Sun 
Lodge of the Ancient Order of York Masons, at Montrose, by 
General James Adams, Deputy Grand Master of Illinois. While 
the Deputy Grand Master was engaged in giving the requisite 
instructions to the Master-elect, I had a conversation with a 
number of brethren in the shade of the building on the subject 
of our persecutions in Missouri, and the constant annoyance 
which has followed us since we were driven from the State, 1 
prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction 
and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains; many would apos- 
tatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors, or lose their 
lives in consequence of exposure or disease; and some of you (re- 
f erring to the brethren present) will live to go and assist in mak- 
ing settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty 
people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains J 9 

Finding that killing the prophet had not destroyed the 
Church; but that with increased zeal his followers were carry- 
ing on the work, the foundation of which he had laid, sectarian 
hate renewed its exertions and armed again the red hand of 
relentless persecution against the Saints. The latter, con- 
vinced that there was no peace for them in Illinois, or any 
where else within the thickly settled portion of the United 
States; and believing that their destiny would be best worked 



22 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 

out in the vast region of the Rocky Mountains, to which the 
prediction of their prophet, already quoted, pointed them, 
their leaders entered into an agreement with the rnob forces 
then preparing to attack Nauvoo, to leave Illinois. 

Early in February, 1846, the first company of the Saints, in 
accordance with the agreement into which they had been 
forced by the mob, mournfully left the beautiful city of 
Nauvoo; crossed the Mississippi on the ice, and began their 
journey through tne wilderness of Iowa. All through the 
stormy months of February and March one company after 
another departed from the beloved city in the wake of the 
first, until the city was deserted by the Saints with the 
exception of a few of the aged and decrepit, whose weakness 
and age it was hoped would be their security against violence. 
But even these, during the summer months of 1864, were 
driven from their homes by the mob in a most barbarous man- 
ner. They took refuge in the wilderness of Iowa where many 
of them perished from exposure and sickness. 

While the first companies of the exiles were encamped on the 
Missouri River, near where the city of Council Bluffs now 
stands, and others were scattered in traveling companies 
through the Territory of Iowa, the exiles furnished a battalion 
of five hundred men for the United States Army to engage in 
the war with Mexico. 

Settlement of the Church in Salt Lake Valley, 

In the spring of 1847 the Mormon Pioneer company was 
organized by Brigham Young, and on the 14th of April started 
from Winter Quarters for the Rocky Mountains. It consisted of 
seventy-three wagons, one hundred and forty-three men, three 
women and two children; one hundred and forty-eight souls in 
all. This company blazed the way for their people through a 
thousand miles of wilderness, and finally arrived in Salt Lake 
Valley on the 24th of July, 1847; and camped on the present 
site of Salt Lake City. There was no hesitancy in selecting 
Salt Lake Valley as the place for the future home of the 
Saints. The city was immediately laid out in its present gen- 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 23 

erous proportions; and the site for the Temple chosen. Word 
was sent back along the line of traveling camps that a resting 
place had been found and the site of the city and temple 
selected. For the next few years the expatriated people 
gathered rapidly to the place selected by their leaders, and the 
work of colonization began in earnest. In addition to founding 
Salt Lake City, within three years a line of settlements had 
been established from Ogden in the North to Provo in the 
South, a distance of nearly one hundred miles. A provisional 
State government had been organized and application made for 
admission into the union — a circumstance which must forever 
stand as a refutation to the charge that it was the design 
of the Mormon leaders to found an independent "Mormon" 
kingdom or empire. Admission into the union was not 
granted; but in 1850 a Territorial government was created for 
all that territory of the United States included within the 
following limits, to-wit: Bounded on the West by the State of 
California, on the North by the Territory of Oregon, on the 
East by the summit of the Rocky Mountains, and on the South 
by the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude. To the new 
Territory thus created was given the name Utah. 

Trials of the Pioneers. 

The colonization of the intermountain desert was attended 
by many hardships and sore trials. There was a thousand 
miles of wilderness between the settlements of the Saints and 
the line of frontier settlements along the Missouri river — a 
wilderness filled with tribes of Indians whose uncertain tem- 
per or love of pelf and war might at any time convert them 
into hostile hordes, at once a menace both to traveling com- 
panies of the exiled Saints and their settlements in the moun- 
tains. Everything that could not be produced from the soil 
had to be shipped in wagons across this thousand miles of 
plains and mountains. Of luxuries there were none; of com- 
forts but few; clothing was scarce, and even food was not 
plentiful. Their first harvest was threatened, for a time, with 
destruction, and only preserved to them by a miracle. In May 



24 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM* 

and June of 1848, when their fields were green with the sprout- 
ing grain that promised a fair harvest, from the surrounding 
hills and mountains came immense swarms of black crickets 
that devoured every vegetable thing before them. Fields of 
grain that were beautifully green and promising in the morn- 
ing, by night through the ravages of these pests were left 
barren and brown. Every device that the settlers could in- 
vent for the destruction of these vermin was resorted to, but 
to no purpose; the first crop of the settlers on which so much 
depended — for the supplies they had brought with them by 
then were nearly exhausted — seemed doomed. The thousands 
of their fellow exiles then enroute across the plains as well as 
themselves were dependent upon that harvest for support. No 
wonder that the new settlers looked upon that devastation of 
their fields with alarm; that fear shook their souls. There 
was just cause for fear. Thousands must perish if that crop 
were destroyed. It was at this moment of their despair, how- 
ever, that a most remarkable deliverance was wrought out for 
them. From across the Salt Lake came myriads of white sea 
gulls which fell upon the pestiferous insects and devoured 
them. It is the testimony of many eye witnesses that they 
would gorge themselves with crickets, vomit them up, and 
then turn again to devouring more. Thus the destroyer was 
destroyed; the land cleared of a pest; the first crops of the 
Utah pioneers rescued from destruction, and a people saved 
from starvation. 

The Saints Misrepresented in the East. 

Gradually the deserts were conquered by the pioneers. The 
settlements were extended on every side and soon began to 
expand into the generous proportions of a commonwealth. 
Meantime the tongue of slander was not idle. The motives of 
the Church leaders were misrepresented. It was falsely 
charged that nine-tenths of the inhabitants of Utah were 
aliens by birth, and refused to take the oath of allegiance or 
do any other act recognizing the government of the United 
States as the paramount authority in the Territory; that the 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OP MORMONISM. 25 

Mormon inhabitants of Utah; whether native or alien born, 
wexe bound by horrible oaths, and terrible penalties, to recog- 
nize and maintain the authority of Brigham Young, and the 
"Government" of which he was the head, as superior to that of 
the United States, in civil as well as religious affairs; that 
they would in due time and under the direction of their 
leaders, use all the means in their power to subvert the govern- 
ment of the United States and resist its authority; that the 
"Mormon Government" with Brigham Young at its head was 
forming alliances with the Indian tribes of Utah and adjoining 
Territories — stimulating the Indians to acts of hostility — and 
organizing bands of followers under the name of Danites or 
destroying angels, to prosecute a system of robbery and mur- 
der upon American citizens who supported the authority of the 
United States. About the time such reports were current in 
the East, a number of United States officials in the Territory 
whose private and official conduct had become unbearable to 
the community, fled from Utah and reported that the Mor- 
mons had destroyed the United States court records; that they 
had intimidated the United States officials; and that the Terri- 
tory was in a state of rebellion. These false reports coming 
as a climax to the misrepresentations already current in the 
East about the Mormons, led the administration at Washing- 
ton to send a division of the United States army to Utah under 
General Albert Sidney Johnston, to quell a "rebellion" which 
had no existence except in the fervid imaginations of anti- 
Mormons. Brigham Young — instructed by the experience of 
the Saints in Missouri, when mobs under the semblance of state 
authority, and in the guise of State militia, plundered his people, 
and then ruthlessly drove them from their homes, and at last 
forcibly expelled them from the State — Brigham Young in his 
capacity of Governor of the Territory of Utah had the sublime 

courage to declare the approaching army a mob and forbade its 
entrance into the Territory. Moreover he sent detachments of 
the Territorial militia to resist its entrance into the Territory, 
and by these means, coupled with the severity of a mountain win- 
ter, the army was detained through the winter of 1857-8 at Fort 



26 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OP MORMONISM. 

Bridger. In the spring of 1858 the "Mormon" people pre- 
pared to sacrifice their homes to the torch, lay waste their 
farms, gardens and orchards and flee once more to the wilder- 
ness. Indeed all preparations to this end were made, and the 
people in the northern settlements deserted their homes and 
began to move Southward, in the proposed new exodus. The 
necessity for their heroic sacrifice, however, was averted. A 
"Peace Commission" was sent from the government to investi- 
gate conditions in Utah. The step that should have been taken 
first was taken last, but it came in time to save the people. 
The court records were found intact. The much bruited "Mor- 
mon rebellion" had no existence. There was no intention of 
resisting the authority of the United States except that which 
was indicated by the action of Brigham Young when he de- 
clared the approaching army a mob and forbade it entering the 
Territory. 

Mormon Loyalty. 

Indeed the Latter-day Saints have ever been loyal to the 
United States. They have felt that their destiny as a people is 
interwoven with that [of this country. To them the con- 
stitution of this country is the product of men inspired by God* 
to lay the foundation of a government wherein religious free- 
dom should be guaranteed; and under which The Church can 
accomplish its mission of preparing the way for the glorious 
coming of the Son of God to reign with His saints on the earth. 
Speaking of the early efforts of Utah to secure statehood? 
Daniel H. Wells, second counselor to Brigham Young, at the 
fourth celebration of the anniversary of the entrance of the 

*And again I say unto you, those who have been shattered by their ene- 
mies, it is my will that they should continue to importune for redress and 
redemption, by the hands of those who are placed as rulers, and are in au- 
thority over you, according- to the laws and constitution of the people 
which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the 
rights and protection of all flesh according to just and holy principles, 
that every man may act in doctrine and principle pretaining to futurity, 
according to the moral agency which I have given unto them, that every 
man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment. There- 
fore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And 
for this purpose have I established the constitution of this land, by the 
hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose and redeemed 
the land by the shedding of blood.— Doctrine and Covenants Sec. CI, 76-80 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM 27 

Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley, and referring to the will- 
ingness of the Saints again to unite their destiny with the 
American republic, said: j^gm t--^ 

"It has been thought by some, that this people, abused, mal- 
treated, insulted, robbed, plundered, murdered, and finally dis- 
franchised and expatriated, would naturally feel reluctant to 
again unite their destiny with the American republic. * * * 
No wonder that it was thought by some that we would not 
again submit ourselves (even while we were yet scorned and 
ridiculed) to return to our allegiance, to our native country. 
Remember, that it was by the act of our country, not ours, that 
we were expatriated; and then consider the opportunity we had 
of forming other ties. Let this pass, while we lift the veil and 
show the policy which dictates us. That country, that consti- 
tution, those institutions, were all ours; they are still ours. 
Our fathers were heroes of the revolution. Under the master 
spirits of an Adams, a Jefferson, and a Washington, they de- 
clared and maintained their independence; and under the guid- 
ance of the Spirit of truth, they fulfilled their mission where- 
unto they were sent from the presence of the Father. Because 
demagogues have arisen and seized the reins of power, should 
we relinquish our interest in that country made dear to us by 
every tie of association and consanguinity? * * * Those 
who have indulged such sentiments concerning us, have not 
read Mormonisim aright; for never, no never, will we desert 
our country's cause; never will we be found arrayed by the 
side of her enemies, although she herself may cherish them in 
her own bosom. Although she may launch forth the thunder- 
bolts of war, which may return and spend their fury upon her 
own head, never, no never, will we permit the weakness of hu- 
man nature to triumph over our love of country, our devotion 
to her institutions, handed down to, us by our honored sires, 
made dear by a thousand tender recollections."* 

Such, surely, is neither the language nor the spirit of a dis- 
loyal people. 

Brigham Young also said: 

"I want to say to every man, the Constitution of the United 
States, as formed by our fathers, was dictated, was revealed, 
was put into their hearts by the Almighty, who sits enthroned in 

*The speech is quoted in Stansbury's Expedition to the Great Salt Lake, 
p. 145-6. 



28 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 

the midst of the heavens: although unknown to them, it was 
dictated by the revelations of Jesus Christ, and I tell you 
in the name of Jesus Christ, it is as good as I could ever ask 
for."* 

Mormonism and Isolation. 

Nor were the Church leaders desirous of remaining isolated 
from their fellow citizens of the Eastern States. The Ter- 
ritorial legislature of 1852, almost if not exclusively Mor- 
mon, petitioned the Congress of the United States to con- 
struct a trans-continental telegraph line and railroad via 
Salt Lake City, to some point on the Pacific coast. The con- 
cluding paragraph of the petition for a transcontinental rail- 
road was as follows: 

"Your memorialists are of the opinion that the mineral re- 
sources of California and these mountains can never be fully 
developed to the benefit of the people of the United States 
without the construction of such a road; and upon its comple- 
tion the entire trade of China and the East Indies will pass 
through the heart of the Union, thereby giving our citizens 
the almost entire control of the Asiatic and Pacific trade, 
pouring into the lap of the American states the millions that 
are now diverted through other commercial channels; and last, 
though not least, the road therein proposed would be a per- 
petual chain or iron band which would effectually hold together 
our glorious Union, with an imperishable identity of mutual 
interest, thereby consolidating our relations with foreign pow- 
ers in times of peace, and our defense from foreign invasion by 
the speedy transmission of troops and supplies in times of war. 
The earnest attention of Congress to this important subject is 
solicited by your memorialists, who, in duty bound, will ever 

pray."| 

When the trans-continental telegraph line reached Salt Lake 
City, which it finally did, in October, 1861, there was great re- 
joicing among the people. President Brigham Young, to whom 
was extended the courtesy of sending the first dispatch over 
the newly completed line, after congratulations to the presi- 

*Stansbury's Expedition, p. 145. 
fWhitney's Hist, of Utah, Vol. 1, p. 488. 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 29 

dent of the Pacific Telegraph Company, Hon. J. H. Warde, 
Cleveland, Ohio, on the completion of so great an enterprise, 
said: 

"Utah has not seceded, but is firm for the Constitution and 
laws of our once happy country, and is warmly interested in 
such useful enterprises as the one so far completed.' 9 

(Signed) Brigham Young. 

With the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line 
and the subsequent construction of the Union Pacific and Cen- 
tral Pacific railroads, which were completed in 1869, the tem- 
porary isolation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
Saints was ended. The Mormon Church was once more in 
immediate touch with the world; her chief city and center of 
population was on the nation's highway between the Atlantic 
and Pacific. A position of great prominence was hers. She 
was indeed as a city set upon a hill that could not be hid. As 
an ensign upon the mountains to the nations, henceforth in 
very deed will she be, arresting the attention of all who pass 
upon the great highways of the continent, among whom shall 
be many of the great and high ones from among all the nations 
of the earth; and they shall look upon her, enquire after her 
and hear her message. Greater mistake was never made by 
her enemies than when they supposed that the Mormon 
Church sought permanent isolation from the world. Such a 
thing would be entirely contrary to the genius of the great 
latter-day work. While her temporary isolation doubtless had 
in it a purpose, yet from the very nature of the missson given 
to her, isolation of the Church from the world could never be 
more than temporary. 

A New Epoch for Mormonism. 

With immediate and frequent intercourse renewed with the 
outside world, new conditions arose in the country occupied by 
the Church. It was seen that Utah would become a desirable 
place for habitation — that the mineral resources of her 
everlasting hills merely awaited development before giving up 



30 ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 

their treasures to the hand of man. Moreover the chief and most 
desirable otnees of the Territory were at the disposal of the 
chief executive of the United States; and were given as re- 
wards for political activity, and not always to men of the first 
order of intellect or highest order of character, in fact some of 
them fall within the category of political adventurers— politi- 
cal camp followers, 

Another class of people saw in Utah a field for their activi- 
ties. These were the over zealous hysterical missionary people, 
fired with a zeal to convert the Mormons "from the error of 
their ways," and if that were not possible, then to fight Mor- 
monism and seek its destruction, It may well be supposed 
that the influx of these two classes of people would result in 
bitter conflict between them and the members of the dominant 
church. The political adventurers would seek the perpetuation 
of Territorial vassalage for the people of Utah, because on that 
depended the continuance of their employment. The sectarian 
zealots would be interested in creating as vicious a public 
opinion concerning Mormon affairs as possible, for upon that 
would depend the willingness of the people of the East to sup- 
ply the funds which sustained these same zealots in Utah, and 
hence there was a very strong temptation for them to misrep- 
resent the attitude of the Mormon church, to vilify its ad-~ 
herents — a temptation, by the way, which they did not much 
resist — and hence, the country was flooded with stories about 
Mormon disloyalty, Mormon perfidy, Mormon fanaticism, 
Mormon degradation, Mormon idolatry, Mormon contempt 
for law and order, and religion. It should be stated, of course, 
that there were honorable exceptions both among those who 
held political offices under appointment from tne Presidents of 
the United States, and exceptions in the class of religious in- 
thusiasts who came to Utah ostensibly to convert the Mor- 
mons "from the error of their ways." Among the former 
there were men of high standing both as to intelligence and 
character; and in the second class there were those who were 
doubtless moved upon with a desire to accomplish good for 
their fellowmen; but with these exceptions noted, and refer- 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM. 31 

ring to them as classes, what is here set down is not in the way 
of malice but a statement of the facts that may readily be 
verified by reference to the history of affairs in Utah. As a 
rule it has been the policy of sectarian ministers to denounce 
the Mormon leaders, whom the Mormon people held in 
highest esteem for their unselfish devotion to the general wel- 
fare of the Church, and the purity and integrity of their lives; 
and instead of hearing what sectarian people would consider 
the more pure doctrines of the Christian religion expounded, 
Mormons were treated to a derision of their own faith, to 
them sacred and divine. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 
day Saints being attacked by these parties both political and re- 
ligious (and they generally made common cause against the 
Mormons), the Mormon people were compelled to unite for 
self preservation, and hence arose in Utah what must ever be 
regarded as an anomaly in American politics, viz: a Church 
and anti-Church party. This led many honest people to the 
supposition that Mormons believed in the union of church and 
state under our form of government; which, however, has no 
other foundation for it than these seemings which arose from 
the conditions here explained. The unnatural and undesirable 
contest was continued until it was seen that such a course was 
retarding the material interests of the Territory, and was hinder- 
ing Utah from taking the political station in the union to which 
both the resources of the Territory and the character of her 
people entitled her. Wiser counsels prevailed; the unprofitable 
conflict between Church and anti-Church party was abandoned, s 
and all united in a demand for statehood which finally was 
granted, Utah being admitted into the Union in the year 1896. 



32 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH, 



DOCTRINES OP THE CHURCH. 

In treating of the origin of Mormonism I said the most sat- 
isfactory account of that event must ever be the prophet Joseph 
Smith's own narrative. So with reference to the doctrines of 
the Church; his statement of those doctrines — in so far as he 
formulated one — will always be of first importance to those in- 
vestigating Mormonism. And here as in the matter of origin, 
they are most fortunate; for they have a summary of the prin- 
cipal doctrines of the Church drawn up by the prophet himself, 
as follows: — 

The Articles of Faith. 

I. 

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus 
Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. 

II. 

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and 
not for Adam's transgression. 

III. 
We believe that, through the atonement of Christ, all man- 
kind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of 
the gospel. 

IV. 

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the 
gospel are: First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Re- 
pentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; 
fourth, Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 

V. 

We believe that a man must be called of God, by "prophecy, 
and by the laying on of hands," by those who are in authority, 
to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. 

VI. 

We believe in the same organization that existed in the prim- 
itive church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evan- 
gelists, etc. 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 33 

VII. 

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, vis- 
ions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc. 

vin. 

We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is 
translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be 
the word of God. 

IX. 

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now 
reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and 
important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. 

X. 

We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the res- 
toration of the Ten Tribes. That Zion will be built upon this 
[i. e. the American] continent. That Christ will reign person- 
ally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and 
receive its paradisiacal glory. 

XI. 

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God accord- 
ing to the dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same 
privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may. 

XII. 

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and 
magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. 

XIII. 

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, 
and in doing good to all men; indeed we may say that we fol- 
low the admonition of Paul, "We believe all things, we hope all 
things," we have endured many things, and hope to be able to 
endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of 
good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. 

Exposition of the Articles of Faith. 

This summary will ever hold first place in the doctrinal state- 
ments that may be made for the Church: first because it was 
prepared by the prophet Joseph Smith himself; and second, be- 
cause of its own intrinsic merit as a brief yet comprehensive 
setting forth of those things most assuredly believed by The 
Church. So excellent indeed is it considered that it has been 



34 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

formally adopted by the Church as an authoritative statement 
of her principal doctrines. But after the importance of this 
first of doctrinal constitutions is thus recognized, it must be 
admitted that it requires both explanation and amplification in 
order to clearly set forth the doctrines of the Church to the 
mind of the reader. For this purpose, therefore, I shall pro- 
ceed to such explanation and amplification, following each ar- 
ticle so treated with scriptural citations of authority. 

I. 
We believe in. God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus 
Christ, and in the Holy Ghost 

Of this it should be said that while the Church teaches that 
these three devine persons constitute the God-head, the one 
creative and governing power in heaven and earth, she also 
teaches that each person of the God-head is distinct from the 
others. That is, each person is a distinct individual. She 
teaches that the Father and the Son are personages of taber- 
nacle, personages of flesh and bone; and that their bodies are 
as tangible as man's; while the Holy Ghost is a personage of 
Spirit. In Mormon theology the "oneness" of the God-head 
consists not in the absolute identity of the substance of the 
three persons, but in the absolute agreement of mind and pur- 
pose and will subsisting among them; by which the mind of 
the one is also the mind of the others; they are also one in 
wisdom and holiness; ana so in all qualities and attributes of 
mind; but are distinct persons or individuals. 

(Unity of the God-head: — John x. 30; also xvii. 11, 20, 21, 
22; viii. 16-18. 

Eph. iv. 4. 6; Matt, xxviii. 18, 19; I. John v. 7. 

Distinct Persons of the God-head: — Matt. iii. 16, 17; xvii. 5; 

John xiv. 26; xv, 26; xvi. 7, 28; Acts vii. 55, 56; Rev. i. 6.) 

A word should also be said — and I know of no better place to 
say it than here — concerning what the Church teaches about 
the relationship existing between God and man, and the purpose 
of man's existence upon the earth. God, the Father, then ac- 
cording to "Mormon" theology, is the Father of the spirits of 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH 35 

all men; not in a mystical sense, but actually — the spirit of 
man is really the offspring of Deity. Hence God's interest in 
man everywhere proclaimed in the appointments and economy 
of the earth. The Church also teaches that from the Father- 
hood of God, as pertaining to the spirits of men, arises the 
brotherhood of man — not a mere sentiment more or less pretty 
and conventional, but a reality, resting upon the actual father- 
hood of God; that the spirit of man had a pre-existent estate, 
that is, that he existed as a spiritual personage, the offspring 
of God, before he tabernacled in the flesh; that the earth was 
created, and a temporal existence provided for man wherein 
he would be allowed a probation in the midst of conditions 
which would give him an experience necessary to his eternal 
progress; a probation in which he could demonstrate his love 
and devotion toward God, and his determination to keep God's 
law in the midst of temptations and allurements to take an op- 
posite course; and thus demonstrate his worthiness to receive 
that exaltation and eternal weight of glory that the Father de- 
sires to bestow upon His children; but which they never can re- 
ceive but through the demonstration of their fitness for that 
honor and glory. 

(Relationship of God and man; and pre-existence of man's 
spirit:— Job xxxviii. 1, 12; Eccl. xii. 7; Heb. xii. 9; Matt. vi. 
6. John xvii. 1, 5; Jeremiah i. 5.) 

II. 

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and 
not for Adam's transgression. 

That which has come to be called the "Fall of Adam" was an 
event necessary to bring to pass man's probation on earth 
under conditions wherein he would meet with those experiences, 
temptations, trials of faith and patience, that would give him 
the opportunity of demonstrating his devotion to truth and 
righteousness, and his obedience to God; that would prepare 
him for the glory and honor which it is the good pleasure of 
our Father in Heaven to bestow upon His children who prove 
themselves worthy of them. Therefore, since Adam's fall be- 



36 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

came necessary to bring to pass these conditions essential to 
the accomplishment of the general purposes of God with refer- 
ence to man's earth life, it is according to the justice of God 
that man should not be punished for the transgression of 
Adam; but only for his own individual transgressions of the di- 
vine law. But as it is according to the justice of God that 
man should not be held subject to punishment for the trans- 
gression of Adam, so it is according to the justice of God that 
he should be held subject to punishment for his own trans- 
gression of God's law. Man under the law of God has the pow- 
er of determining what is good conduct and what is evil or 
sinful conduct. Yet knowing what is good and what is evil he 
commits sin. He sins knowingly, willfully, and sometimes wan- 
tonly. He transgresses the laws of God and of nature in spite 
of the protests of his conscience, the convictions of his reason 
and the promptings of his judgment. He becomes desperately 
wicked at times and so depraved that he actually seeks evil 
and loves it. Under these circumstances I repeat, it is ac- 
cording to the justice of God that man should be punished for 
his own sins, 

(Man punished for his own sins: — Rom. ii. 5, 15; Provb. xxiv. 
12; Matt. xvL 27; Rev. xx. 12. See also passages under next 
article.) 

III. 

We believe that, through the atonement of Christ, all mankind 
may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. 

To bring to pass the redemption of man from the Fall — the 
effect of which was to subject the race to the power of death 
and the bondage of sin — a Redeemer was provided in the person 
of Jesus Christ, the second personage of the God-head; who, 
being possessed of the power of the resurrection in His own 
person, broke the bands of death and released man from the 
power thereof, by bringing to pass the resurrection from 
the dead, a reality in which all men born into the world will 
ultimately participate. Jesus Christ also released men 
from the bondage of their own sins on condition of their accept- 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 37 

ance of the principles of His gospel, and obedience to the laws 
and ordinances thereof. 

(Men saved through atonement of Christ: — Dan. xii.2; John v. 
26, 29; Acts. xxiv. 14, 15; Rev. xx. 12, 13; Rom. v. 18; I Cor. b 
xv. 21, 22:— 

And by obedience to the gospel: — Mark xvi. 16; Heb. v. 9; Matt, 
xxviii. 19, 20; Matt. xix. 16-22.) 

IV. 

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel 
are: First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance: 
third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, 
Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost 

The statements in this article are so comprehensive that all 
that will be necessary will be to add the scriptural proofs, and 
just a word pointing out the logical order as well as the scrip- 
tural order there is in this presentation of the principles and 
ordinances of the gospel. 

Faith: Faith is held to be the first principle of the gospel, 
not through any arbitrary arrangement or placement of it; but 
because of the nature of the thing itself. "He that cometh to 
God must believe that he is" (Heb. xi. 6); that is, must believe 
that he exists: for if men do not believe in the existence of 
God it is very evident that they will not consider themselves 
under obligations to be obedient to Him; and without obedience 
to God no progrees whatever can be made towards man's salva- 
tion. Faith, therefore, is the first principle of the gospel from 
necessity, because of the nature of the thing itself. It is the 
incentive to all rational action, and by reason of that becomes 
the foundation of all righteousness, and the first principle of 
revealed religion. 

Repentance: Faith in God once established it is not difficult 
to convince men that they have lived in violation of the right- 
eous law of God; that they have trampled under their feet the 
righteous laws of heaven; and as a result of this conviction of 
sin, sorrow takes hold of them and leads them into repentance, 
the full fruition of which is a reformation of life. 



38 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

Baptism: No sooner does sorrow for sin take hold of man 
than he desires forgiveness of past offenses. Many times in the 
midst of his sorrowing over sins, he says in his heart: "I would 
give five, ten, or twenty years of my life, or life itself, if such 
and such an act of mine could only be obliterated and become 
as if it never had been; or if it could be forgiven, so that there 
could be reconciliation between God and me, between me 
and my conscience; that 1 might again feel that sense of inno- 
cence which I knew before I plunged into wrong doing." 
These are the natural longings of the human heart when the 
spirit of repentance takes possession of it, and the gospel of 
Jesus Christ in the logical sequence of its teachings rises to 
meet this condition and tells the sinner that though his sins be 
as scarlet yet, since he has faith in God and sincere sorrow for 
sin, by baptism in water, in the name of the Holy Trinity, his 
sins may be washed away — the past forgiven, and reconcilia- 
tion with God effected. 

Reception of the Holy Ghost: But after forgiveness of past 
sins the human weakness still remains, human inclination to 
sin still drives man on toward error, and his imperfect judg- 
ment is not sufficient to guide him aright; his human strength 
alone is not sufficient to make him equal to the task of living 
in harmony with the divine law. God knew this would be the 
condition of man, and hence provided in His gospel the baptism 
of the Holy Ghost through the ordinance of laying on of hands, 
by which this baptism is effected. (See scriptural references 
under laying on of hands.) By this baptism of the Spirit man's 
life is brought in touch with the spirit life of God, and some of 
God's strength imparted to him, by reason of which he may hope 
to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. He receives in 
the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and the privilege of per- 
petually walking within the circle of His influence, an unction 
from the Holy One, by which he may know all things, an 
anointing which, if it abide upon him, will teach him all things. 
Under this companionship and its influence man begins the work 
of character-building, which at the last shall prepare him to 
dwell with God. These doctrines, as thus presented, stand not 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 39 

only in their scriptural order, but in logical order to each other 
as well, the one leading up to the other, which follows in beau- 
tiful and logical sequence. 

Faith: Heb. xi. 6; Rom. i. 16, 17; Rom. x. 14, 15; John iii. 
14, 16; James iii. 14, 26. 

Repentance: Ezek. xviii. 30, 31 ; Compare Zech. vii. and viii. 
with Eph. iv. 25, 32; Matt. iii. 1, 2; Luke xiii. 1, 5; Acts ii. 38. 

Baptism: John iii. 3, 5; Matt. iii. 13, 16; Matt, xxviii. 19, 20; 
Mark xvi. 16; Acts ii. 38. 

Object of Baptism: Mark i. 14; Luke iii. 3; Acts ii. 38; Acts 
xxii. 16. 

Mode of Baptism: Matt. iii. 6, 16; Acts viii. 39; John iii. 3, 5; 
Rom. vi. 4, 5; Col. ii. 22. 

Laying on of Hands for the Holy Ghost: John iii. 3, 5; Acts 
xiii. 5, 20; Heb. vi. 2; Acts xix. 6; II Tim. i. 6. 

Powers of the Spirit: John xiv. 26; John xvi. 13, 14; Rev. 
xix. 10; I Cor. xii. 



We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and 
by the laying on of hands," by those who are in authority, to 
preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. 

It is clear from the scriptures that men who in ancient 
times ministered in the things of God were called of God, and 
ordained by divine authority. Concerning the apostles Jesus 
said: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, 
and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth 
fruit." When seven men were chosen to look after the 
poor and minister to them, they set them before the 
apostles, who, when they had prayed, laid their hands 
upon them and ordained them to their calling. So in the 
case of Paul. It was not enough that he saw and spoke 
with Messiah, for afterwards when the Lord would have him 
engage in the work of preaching the gospel and administering 
in the ordinances thereof, the Holy Ghost said unto certain 
prophets at Antioch, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the 
work whereunto I have called them." And when they had 
fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent 
them away. Furthermore as Paul went about confirming the 
souls of the saints, he ordained elders in every church. He did 



40 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

not suffer men to take the authority upon themselves to minis- 
ter in the things of God, but warned the saints against such 
characters. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves/' said he to 
the elders of Ephesus, "and to all the flock over the which the 
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of 
God. * * * For I know this, that after my departing, shall 
grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And 
of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to 
draw away disciples after them." 

The general law of the church on this principle is expressed 
in the following: "Every high priest taken from among men 
is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may 
offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. * * * * And no 
man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of 
God, as was Aaron." The manner in which Aaron was called 
to the priest's office is recorded in the writings of Moses as 
follows: The word of the Lord came to the prophet saying: 
"Take thou unto thee Arron thy brother, and his sons with him, 
from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto 
me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar 
and Ithamar, Aaron's sons." 

We are informed by the scriptures that the Lord wrought 
special miracles by the hand of Paul, whom He had called to be 
His servant. The sick were healed, and evil spirits were cast 
out of those who were possessed. "Then certain of the vaga- 
bond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which 
had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure 
you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons 
of Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the 
evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I khow, and Paul I khow, but 
who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped 
upon them, and overcome them, and prevailed against them, so 
that they fled out of the house naked and wounded." These 
men presumptuously took it upon themselves to act as those 
who had devine authority, and the result was that not even the 
devils would respect their administrations, much less the Lord. 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 41 

There is a principle of great moment associated with this inci- 
dent. The question is, if these men, when acting without author- 
ity from God, could not drive out an evil spirit in the name of 
Christ, would their administration be of force, or have any vir- 
tue in it, had they administered in some other ordinance of the 
gospel, say baptism for the remission of sins, or laying on hands 
for imparting the Holy Ghost? Manifestly it would not. And 
hence we rightly come to the conclusion, so well expressed in 
the article of faith here considered. 

(Men to be called and ordained of God: — John xv. 16; Acts v. 
1-6; Acts xiii. 1-4; Acts xiv. 2, 3; Acts xx. 28, 29; Heb. v. 1, 5; 
Acts xix. 13, 16.) 

VI. 

We believe in the same organization that existed in the primi- 
tive church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evange- 
lists, etc, 

Messiah during His personal ministry organized a quorum of 
twelve apostles, to whom He gave very great powers and au- 
thority, even to be witnesses of Him and His gospel, among the 
people; to build up His Church by the proclamation of the gos- 
pel, to heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead 
and cast out devils. He likewise organized quorums of seventy, 
unto whom He gave similar powers to those bestowed upon 
the apostles. After His resurrection Messiah was with His 
apostles and disciples forty days, during which time He was 
teaching them all things concerning the kingdom of God. Hence 
we have these men after His ascension organizing branches of 
the church wherever they found people who received their testi- 
mony. In some instances they ordained elders to preside over 
these branches; and in other instances bishops were appointed. 

Paul in giving a description of the organization of the church 
says: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, sec- 
ondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then 
gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. 
Are all apostles ? are all prophets? are ail teachers? are all 
workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak 



42 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

with tongues? do all interpret?" The implied answer is that 
all are not apostles, nor prophets, nor teachers, etc., in the 
church of Christ, but that the whole body is fitly joined together 
and compacted by that which every joint supplieth. Pre- 
ceding the quotation just made from Paul, he compares the 
church of Christ to the body of a man, which, though it be com- 
posed of many members, yet it is but one body, and all the 
members thereof are needful to it. "The eye cannot say unto 
the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the 
feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of 
the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary." This 
is equivalent to saying that the apostle cannot say to the 
elder, I have no need of thee; nor the deacon to the bishop, I 
have no need of thee; nor the seventy to the priest, I have no 
need of thee. The argument is that all the officers, even those 
which seem the least necessary, are all needful to the existence 
of the church of Christ, and everyone is forbidden to hold as 
unnecessary his brother officer. Moreover, the apostle insists 
that there should be the same bond of sympathy between the 
members of the church of Christ, that is seen in the members 
of the human body; that there should be no schism in it and 
that the members should have a care one for another; 
that when one member suffers all the members suffer with 
it; or if one member be honored, all rejoice with it. In 
another description of the church the same writer, after 
saying again that God had given "some, apostles; and some, 
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teach- 
ers," — enumerates the objects for which this peculiar organi- 
zation was given: — (1) for the perfecting of the Saints; 
(2) the work of the ministry; (3) edifying the body of 
Christ; (4) to prevent the Saints being carried about by every 
wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craft- 
iness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. He very plainly in- 
timates, too, that this organization was designed to be perpet- 
uated until the saints all come to the "unity of the faith and 
of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, 
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 43 

Furthermore, I suggest— and it must be obvious, that since 
the church organization was given to perfect the saints, to 
perform the work of the ministry, to edify the body of Christ, 
to prevent the saints being carried about by every wind of 
doctrine, or being deceived by cunning men — that so long as 
there are saints who need perfecting; so long as there is a 
necessity for the work of the ministry; so long as the Church 
of Christ needs edifying or the Saints need to be guarded from 
heresy or the deceitfulness of false teachers, just so long will 
this organization of the Church with apostles and prophets, 
seventies and elders, bishops and teachers and deacons be need- 
ed, and since that kind of work enumerated in the foregoing 
will always be necessary, I reach the conclusion that the 
church organization as established by the apostles was designed 
to be perpetual. 

(Church Organization:— -Matt, x; Acts i. 4-8; compare Luke 
x. with Matt, x; Acts i. 3; Acts xiv. 23; Acts xx. 17, 28; Phil, 
i. 1; Titus i. 5, 7; I Cor. xii. 28, 30; Eph. iv. 4-16.) 

VII. 

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, 
healing, interpretation of tongues, etc. 

This belief in the continuance of the spiritual gifts of the 
gospel is one of the chief characteristics of Mormonism, and 
one of the things which most clearly distinguish it from all 
the Christian sects. Mormonism holds that all the spiritual 
powers ever attendant upon true religion — the gospel of Jesus 
Christ — belong to it now; that whatever the gospel of Christ 
is, and in whatever age it is found, there also will be the power 
of God as well as the forms of godliness; that the spiritual 
gifts and graces of the gospel of Christ are as inseparable 
from it as warmth and brightness are inseparable from the 
sun;*and it is a miserable blunder and the apology of apostate 
churches, or the excuse of false religions, to say that the 
powers of godliness as manifested in the spiritual gifts of the 
gospel enumerated in the scriptures are to be separated from 
the religion of Jesus Christ, as things transitory and to be 
done away. 



44 DOCTRINES OP THE CHURCH. 

(Continuance of Spiritual Gifts:— I John ii. 20, 27; Isaiah xxx. 
20, 21; II Peter i. 21; Rev. xix. 10; I Cor. ii. 10, 11; I Cor. xii. 
1-31; I Cor. xiv. 1-5; John xv. 26;) 

VIII. 

We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is trans- 
lated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word 
of God. 

It has been alleged that Mormons do not believe the Bible; 
that they discard it, and substitute for it the Book of 
Mormon, often spoken of as the "Mormon Bible." The Latter- 
day Saints, however, believe the Bible, the Jewish Scriptures 
— the Old and New Testaments, to be the w T ord of God; to it 
they appeal in support of their doctrine; it is an authority 
with them in matters of faith and morals and church govern- 
ment; but they do not overlook the fact that there are errors 
and inaccuracies of translation in our English versions. More- 
over they cannot help but know that there are omissions of 
whole books of scripture from the collection of books called 
the Bible; books written by prophets, seers, and apostles. 
Direct reference is made to such books in some parts of the 
Bible. The inaccuracies growing out of errors of translation 
on the one hand, and the omission of whole books of scripture 
from the collection on the other, with here and there parts of 
the sacred text designedly mutilated for sectarian purposes, 
render it necessary to say, in expressing their belief in the Bible, 
that they accept it as the word of God as far as it is a col- 
lection of sacred books, its text uncorrupted, and its transla- 
tions accurate. In saying that " they also believe the Book 
of Mormon to be the word of God " the Saints, of course, mean that 
it is a volume of scripture of equal authority with the Bible. 
Modern Christendom would have the world believe that the Bi- 
ble alone contains all the revelations of God. But it is evident 
that not only the Eastern hemisphere, but the Western hemi- 
sphere also was peopled by the children of God, although 
the existence of the people of the Western hemisphere 
was unknown to Europeans until a little over four hundred 
years ago. Here empires flourished, civilizations rose and 
fell, and in the course of time hundreds of millions of 



DOCTRINES OP THE CHURCH. 45 

God's children passed away; and if we are to accept ortho- 
dox Christian views concerning revelation, they perish with- 
out a knowledge of God — without a revelation of His exist- 
ence, or of His character, or attributes — or a knowledge of the 
gospel of Jesus Christ. Mormonism teaches no such narrow 
view of the hand dealings of God with His children on the sub- 
ject of revelation, It holds that God reveled Himself to His 
children on the Western hemisphere as well as to those on the 
Eastern hemisphere; that He sent prophets and wise men 
among them, to teach them of his ways, and make known His 
.purposes respecting them; and finally the Son of God Himself, 
the risen Redeemer, visited the people of the Western world 
and made known to them the fullness of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. Much of this was written down by inspired men, and 
when anarchy prevailed, and governments and civilization it- 
self went down before the spirit of barbarism which stalked 
through the land, these sacred records were safely hidden up 
unto the Lord to come forth under the circumstances detailed 
by Joseph Smith himself at page fourteen of this pamphlet. 
The Book of Mormon, then, is a volume of scripture; not a 
substitute for the Bible; not supplanting it in any sense, but 
is the voice of sleeping nations speaking out of the past, out 
of the dust or the Western world, bearing witness of the same 
great truths of which the Bible itself speaks, testifying that 
the Lord is God; that Jesus is the Christ; that the gospel is 
the power of God unto salvation to all mankind. 

(Revelations other than those in the Bible: — John xxi. 25; Act£ 
xvii. 26, 27; John x. 16; Hos. viii. 11, 12; Ezek. xxxvii. 15, 28; 
Isa. xxix. 9, 24.) 

(Lost Books of Scripture: — I Chron. xxix. 29; II Chron. ix. 29; 
and xii. 15; I Sam. x. 25; I Kings iv. 32, 33; Gal. iii. 8; Jude 
14, 15; Jude 3; Eph. iii. 3; Col. iv. 16; I Cor. v. 9.) 

IX. 

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now re- 
veal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and impor- 
tant things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. 

From this it will be seen that the Latter-day Saints are as 



46 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

far from believing that the fountain of revelation is dried up 
as they are that the Bible alone contains all the revelations God 
has given to man. The theory that revelations, the visitations 
of angels, the enjoyment of the spirit of prophecy, were all to 
cease when the Church of Christ was fully established by the 
ministry of the apostles, is one of the inventions of the apos- 
tate churches to excuse the absence of these divine spiritual 
powers in the godless institutions which usurped the place of 
the Church of Christ long centuries ago. In the faith of the 
Latter-day Saints it is the privilege and right of the Church of 
Christ for ever to be in continuous and constant spiritual com- 
munication with her Spouse, the Lord; which, however, she can 
only possess by the enjoyment of continuous revelation, the 
visitation of angels, and the possession of the Holy Ghost, 
which is the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy. 
Instead of teaching that the day of revelation and the visita- 
tion of angels has ceased, it is the mission of the Church to 
bear witness that these spiritual privileges are to be more and 
more enjoyed, until all things in heaven and in earth shall be 
gathered together in one, in Christ Jesus our Lord; and to pro- 
claim to the world that it is the morning rather than the even- 
ing of revelation from God to man; and that as the heavens 
are full of days, so too are they full of light and knowledge to 
be revealed unto the children of men in God's own due time : 
and while the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rev- 
erently believes all that God has revealed, as well to men in 
the Western hemisphere as to men in the Eastern world, she 
looks confidently forward to still greater revelations in the fu- 
ture than has been given in the past. 

(Latter Day Revelations: — Isa. xxviii. 10, 13; Acts ii. 17, 18; 
Mai. iii. 1, 4; Mai. iv; Isa. xi; Ezek. xx. 33, 38; Matt. xxiv. 
31; Rev. xiv. 6, 7; Joel ii. 28, 32; Heb. i. 5; Zech. xiv.) 

X. 

We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the restora- 
tion of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this [the 
American] continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 47 

earth, and that the earth will be renewed and receive its para- 
disiacal glory. 

Notwithstanding Israel and Judah have been scattered, their 
temple destroyed and their chief city trodden down of the Gen- 
tiles, the remnant of this favored people of God, according to 
the promises of the Lord, are to be gathered together again and 
established upon the lands given by covenant unto their fore- 
fathers. The keys necessary for the inauguration of this work 
were given to the prophet Joseph Smifti, and the work of gath- 
ering together the outcasts of Israel has begun. 

Relative to the establishment of Zion in the land of America, 
that is a matter that is revealed in the Book of Mormon and in 
the revelations of God to the prophet Joseph Smith. In the 
latter it is made known that the center place of Zion, 
the Holy City of this land of America, will be located in Jack- 
son county, Missouri, where the town of Independence now 
stands. Early in the history of the church — in the summer 
of 1831 — this land was dedicated to the Lord to be the 
gathering place of the Saints, and the site for the temple was 
chosen. The personal reign of Christ on earth, the renewal of 
the earth into its paradisiacal glory are all matters of predic- 
tion even in the New Testament scriptures. The Latter-day 
Saints look forward to the literal fulfillment of those promises, 
and they believe that the reign of Christ will be a literal one, 
and that Messiah will dwell with His people. 

(Gathering of Israel in the Last Days: — Jer. xxx; Isa. xliii. 
5, 9; Jer. xxxi; Jer. xxxii. 37; Isa. xlix. 22. 26; Isa. xi. 10, 16; 
Zech. x. 6, 12; Zech. xiv; Jer. xxiii. 3, 8; Ezek. xxxviii; Ezek. 
xxxix.) 

(Reign of Christ on Earth: — Isaiah lxv. 17, 20; Isa. xxiv. 23; 
Isa. ii. 3; Dan. vii. 13, 14; II Thes. ii. 1, 3; Rev. xi. 15; Rev. 
xx. 4, 6; Rev. v, 10.) 

XI. 

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according 
to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same 
privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. 

This claim is made in the interest of the political and civil 



48 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

rights of the Saints rather than as the announcement of a re- 
ligious doctrine; and it is to be observed that the Saints concede 
to others the political and civil rights which they claim for 
themselves. While it may be true in these modern days, as it 
was of ancient times, that the proclamation of the religion of 
Jesus Christ has brought not peace but "a sword" into the world, 
still the "sword" has ever been found in the hands of those 
who have been opposed to the religion of the Saints, never in 
the hands of the Latter-day Saints, save in the way of self de- 
fense. The Saints have never believed that they had any right 
(and certainly they never have had the power) to enforce their 
belief upon any people except to the extent of their ability to 
persuade them of its truth. Indeed it is part of the doctrine 
of the church that "No power or influence can or ought to be 
maintained by virtue of the priesthood" (under which power 
the church work is accomplished) "only by persuasion, by long 
suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned, 
by kindness, and by pure knowledge, which shall greatly en- 
large the soul without hypocrisy and without guile." — Doc. and 
Cov. Sec. 121, 41-42. 

XII. 

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and 
magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. 

In this article they confess their obligations to civil govern- 
ment. "We believe that governments were instituted of God 
for the benefit of man, and that he holds men accountable for 
their acts in relation to them, either in making laws or admin- 
istering them, for the good and safety of society. 

"We believe that no government can exist in peace, except 
such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each 
individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and con- 
trol of property, and the protection of life. 

"We believe that all governments necessarily require civil 
officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same, and 
that such as will administer the law in equity and justice, 
should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people (it 
a republic) or the will of the sovereign. 



DOCTRINES OP THE CHURCH. 49 

"We believe that religion is instituted of God, and that men 
are amenable to Him, and to Him only, for the exercise of it, 
unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon 
the rights and liberties of others; but we do not believe that 
human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of 
worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for 
public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should 
restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish 
guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul. 

"We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold 
the respective governments in which they reside, while pro- 
tected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of 
such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbe- 
coming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished 
accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact 
such laws as in their own judgment are best calculated to 
secure the public interest, at the same time, however, holding 
sacred the freedom of conscience. 

"We believe that every man should be honored in his station; 
rulers and magistrates as such, being placed for the protec- 
tion of the innocent, and the punishment of the guilty; and 
that to the laws, all men owe respect and deference, as with- 
out them peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy 
and terror; human laws being instituted for the express pur- 
pose of regulating our interests as individuals and nations, 
between man and man; and divine laws given of heaven, pre- 
scribing rules on spiritual concerns, for faith and worship, 
both to be answered by man to his Maker." — Doc. and Cov. 
Sec. 134, 1-7. 

Such have been and are the views of the Latter-day Saints 
relative to laws and governments in general, and man's duty 
to obey the constituted authority of civil government. If in 
the history of the Church there has been any apparent devia- 
tion from the principles here announced, and which have been 
proclaimed by The Church at least from the year 1835, when 
they were adopted by the spiritual authorities of The Church 



50 ^DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

at Kirtland, Ohio, it has been for the reason that laws have 
been enacted against the practice of religious principles which 
God revealed to His Church; and upon the Latter-day Saints 
devolved the duty of contending in a, lawful manner for the 
right to practice the principles which God has revealed to 
them, as well as to believe them. Under such circumstances 
only has there been any conflict between The Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-day Saints and the civil authorities of any 
government. 

XIII. 

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, 
and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow 
the admonition of Paul: — "We believe all things, we hope all 
things," we have endured many things, and hope to be able to en- 
dure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good 
report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. 

This has to do with the ethical part of their religion, but the 
article is in itself so comprehensive, direct and clear, that it 
does not require either enlargement or explanation. 

Additional Doctrines — (a) Salvation of the Dead. 

Under this heading I propose to briefly discuss the question 
of the application of the gospel to those who lived when it was 
not in the earth; or when in the earth was not preached to 
them. It is apparent that such conditions as here alluded to 
have existed, and the question, What is the condition of those 
who have not heard the gospel preached in this earth-life is 
both interesting and important. It must be clear that those 
nations and races here referred to have some claim upon God, 
and since the Christian religion assumes, and that rightly, to 
teach the only way of salvation, it devolves upon the Christian 
sects to give some reasonable explanation of this matter. In 
what way will the gospel be applied to the uninstructed dead? 
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers a 
rational solution to this problem in her doctrine of "salvation 
for the dead." From a remark made in the writings of the 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 51 

Apostle Peter we learn that after the Messiah was put to 
death in the flesh "he went and preached unto the spirits in 
prison, which sometime were disobedient, when once the long- 
suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.*'* During 
the three days, then, that the Messiah's body lay in the 
tomb at Jerusalem, His spirit was in the world of spirits 
preaching to those who had rejected the teaching of righteous 
Noah. The Christian traditions, no less than the scriptures, 
hold that Christ went into hell and preached to those there 
held in ward. Not only is the mere fact of Messiah's going to 
the spirits in prison stated in the scriptures, but the purpose of 
His going there is learned from the same source. "For this 
cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that 
they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live 
according to God in the spirit." t This manifestly means 
that the spirits who had once rejected the counsels of 
God against themselves had the gospel again presented to them 
and had the privilege of living according to its precepts in the 
spirit life; and of being judged according to men in the flesh, 
or as men in the flesh will be judged; that is, according to the 
degree of their faithfulness to the precepts of the gospel. It 
should be observed from the foregoing scripture that even to 
those who had rejected the gospel in the days of Noah it was 
again presented by the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ; up- 
on which consideration the following reflection forces itself 
upon the mind: viz. If the gospel is preached again to those 
who have once rejected it, how much sooner will it be pre- 
sented to those who never heard it — who lived in those genera- 
tions when neither the gospel nor the authority to administer 
its ordinances were in the earth? Seeing that those who had 
rejected it had it again preached to them (after paying the 
penalty for their disobedience), surely those who lived w T hen it 
was not upon the earth or who, when it was upon the earth 
perished in ignorance of it, will much sooner come to salvation. 

*I Peter iii. 18, :i. 
fl Peter 4, 6. 



52 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

The manner in which the ordinances of the gospel may be 
administered to those who have died without having received 
them is plainly stated by Paul. Writing to the Corinthians on 
the subject of the resurrection — correcting those who said 
there was no resurrection — he asks: "Else what shall they do 
which are baptized for the dead, if the dead arise not at all? 
Why are they then baptized for the dead?" In this the 
apostle manifestly refers to the practice which existed 
among the Christian saints of the living being baptized for the 
dead; and argues from the existence of that practice that the 
dead must rise, or why the necessity of being baptized for 
them? This passage of the scripture of itself -is sufficient to 
establish the fact that such an ordinance as baptism for the 
dead was known among the ancient saints. 

In the present dispensation of the gospel committed to the 
earth through the revelations of God to the Prophet Joseph 
Smith, this application of the ordinances of the gospel to the 
dead has been a special feature. Among the earliest revela- 
tions given to the prophet, even before the Church itself was 
organized, was one in which the promise was renewed that is 
given in the word of the Lord through Malachi, viz: "Behold, 
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the 
great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the 
heart of the fathers to the children,, and the hearts of the 
children to their fathers, least I come and smite the earth with 
a curse." In fulfillment of this ancient prophecy the prophet 
Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple on the third day of 
April, 1836, to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and delivered 
to those men the keys or powers of the priesthood which give 
to the living the right to do a work for the salvation of the 
dead; and as a consequence the hearts of the children are 
turned to the fathers; and, of course, since the fathers in the 
spirit world, through the preaching of the gospel, learn that it 
is within the power of their children to do a work for them in 
the earth, their hearts are turned to the children; and thus the 
predicted result of Elijah's mission will be fulfilled. 



doctrines of the church. 53 

The work the living may do for the dead is that of attend- 
ing to outward ordinances — baptisms, confirmations, ordina- 
tions, washings, anointings, and sealings — all being appointed 
by revelation and direction of the Lord, and all sealed and 
ratified by the power of the priesthood of God which binds on 
earth and in heaven. It is required that all baptisms and 
other ordinances of the gospel to be performed for the dead be 
attended to in houses — and more properly in temples — especially 
dedicated for such holy purposes. In pursuance of this work, 
and that it may be acceptably done unto the Lord, the Latter- 
day Saints have built at great sacrifice of labor and means, so 
many costly temples. One at Nauvoo; one at Salt Lake City; 
one at Logan; one at Manti, and one at St. George; in which 
the ordinances of salvation for the dead as well as for the 
living are being daily performed; for the Saints believe that 
the fathers without them cannot be made perfect, neither can 
they be made perfect without the fathers. There must be a 
sealing and binding together of all the generations of men 
until the family of God shall be perfectly joined in holiest 
bonds and ties of mutual affections. These ordinances attended 
to on earth by the living, and accepted in the spirit world by 
those for whom they are performed, will make them a potent 
means of salvation to the dead, and of exaltation to the living, 
since the latter become in very deed "saviors upon Mount 
Zion." This work that can be done for the dead enlarges one's 
views of the gospel of Jesus Christ. One begins to see indeed 
that it is the "everlasting gospel;" for it runs parallel with 
man's existence both in this life and in that which is to come. 

Additional Doctrines — (b) The Marriage System of The Church. 

In such a presentation of Mormonism as it is desired this 
brochure shall be, something of incompleteness would attach to 
it if nothing be said concerning the marriage system of The 
Church. In common with the Christian sects the Latter-day 
Saints in the early years of The Church's existence, regarded 
marriage vaguely as an institution to exist in this world only; 



54 DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 

and married as Christian professors now do, until death 
doth them part; but by the revelation on marriage given 
through the prophet Joseph Smith, the Saints learned that 
in celestial spheres the marriage relation exists eternally; 
and that the pleasing joys of family ties and associations, 
coupled with the power of endless increase, contributes to the 
happiness, power and dominion of those who attain to the 
celestial glory. What a revelation was this ! Instead of the 
God-given power of procreation being one of the things to pass 
away, it is one of the chief means of man's exaltation and 
glory in eternity. Through it men attain to the glory of an 
endless increase of eternal lives, and the right of presiding as 
priest and patriarch, king, and lord, over his ever increasing pos- 
terity. Instead of the commandment "Multiply and replenish 
the earth" being an unrighteous law, to be regarded askance, 
and as something evil, it is one by which the race of man is to 
be eternally perpetuated; and is as holy and pure as the com- 
mandment "Repent and be baptized." / The new marriage sys- 
tem, then, or, rather, the old marriage system of the patriarchs 
restored to the earth through this revelation — consists in the 
eternity of the marriage covenant; that is, the marriage 
covenant between a man and his wife is made for time and all 
eternity, and being sealed by that power of the priesthood 
"which binds on earth and in heaven," the covenant holds good 
in heaven as well as on earth; in eternity as well as in time; 
after as well as before the resurrection from the dead; and 
by reason of it men will have claim upon their wives and wives 
upon their husbands throughout eternity, i 

Celestial marriage also includes under certain conditions, 
restrictions and obligations, a plurality of wives. Such promi- 
nence indeed has been given to this feature of the marriage sys- 
tem of The Church that to a great extent it has obscured the 
grandeur and importance of the principle of the eternity of the 
marriage covenant. Plurality of wives, of course, was as great 
an innovation in the marriage system of the world as marriage 
for eternity was. It comes in conflict, too, not only with the 



DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. 55 

education and traditions of the modern world, but in conflict 
with the prejudices of the Saints themselves; yet God had com- 
manded its introduction into the world, and though the preju- 
dices of the Saints revolted against it, the faithful to whom it 
was revealed resolved to obey it, and in the introduction of this 
principle of the marriage S}^stem of The Church, the prophet 
Joseph Smith himself led the way. Its introduction into The 
Church originally was confined within a small circle of the 
faithful brethren and sisters; and it was not until The Church 
had settled in the Rocky Mountain valleys of Utah, that it was 
publicly proclaimed as a doctrine of The Church unto the world. 
The practice of it was then made public. The whole Church — 
and at that time (1852) the members of The Church comprised 
nearly the whole community of Utah — approving the principle, 
which was at once recognized as a proper religious institution. 
For ten years the practice in Utah of this system of mar- 
riage met with no opposition from the United States Govern- 
ment. But in 1862 a law was enacted by Congress to punish 
and prevent the practice of "polygamy" in the Territories of 
the United States. The penalties affixed were a fine, not to 
exceed five hundred dollars, and imprisonment not to exceed 
five years. For twenty years, however, this law remained 
practically a dead letter. It was claimed by the Saints that it 
was an infringement of the religious liberty guaranteed by the 
Constitution of the United States, since it prohibited the prac- 
tice of a religious doctrine.* For twenty years no pronounced 
effort was made by the officers of the general government to 
enforce the law. In 1882, however, the law enacted twenty 
years before was supplemented by what is known as the 
"Edmunds Law." In addition to defining the crime of 
"polygamy" — for which it retained the same penalties as the 
law of 1862 — the "Edmunds Law" also made the cohabiting 
with more than one woman a crime, punishable by a fine not to 
exceed three hundred dollars, and by imprisonment not to ex- 

*"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. "..Amendments to Constitution, 
Article I. 



56 DOCTRINES OP THE CHURCH. 

ceed six months. This law also rendered persons who were 
living in "polygamy," or who believed in its rightfulness, in- 
competent to act as grand or petit jurors; and also disqualified 
all polygamists for voting or holding office. This law of 1882 
was again supplemented by the "Edmunds-Tucker Law" — en- 
acted in 1887 — which made the legal wife or husband, in cases 
of polygamy or unlawful cohabitation, a competent witness, 
provided the accused consented thereto; it also enlarged the* 
powers of the United States commissioners and marshals, and 
required certificates of all marriages to be filed in the office of 
'the probate court. The penalty for the violation of this 'last 
provision was a fine of one thousand dollars, and imprisonment 
for two years. The law disincorporated The Church, and 
ordered the supreme court to wind up its affairs, and take pos- 
session of the escheated property. 

The laws were rigorously enforced by the United States 
officials, special appropriations being made by Congress to en- 
able them to carry on a judicial crusade against the Saints. 
The prominent Church officials were driven into retirement; 
others into exile. Homes were disrupted; family ties were 
rent asunder. Upwards of a thousand men endured fines and 
imprisonment in the penitentiary rather than be untrue to 
their families. Every effort of the government to deprive the 
Saints of their religious liberty was stubbornly contested in 
the courts, until the decision of the supreme court of the 
United States was obtained. While some of the proceedings 
of the courts in Utah in enforcing the anti-polygamy laws 
were condemned, the laws themselves were sustained as consti- 
tutional. The court also held that the first amendment to the 
Constitution, which provides that Congress shall not prohibit 
the free exercise of religion, cannot be invoked against legisla- 
tion for the punishment of plural marriages. Meantime Gov- 
ernment was relentless, and still more stringent measures than 
those already enacted were threatened. In the midst of these 
afflictions and threatening portents, President Wilford Wood- 
ruff besought the Lord in prayer, and the Lord inspired him to 



DOCTRINES OP THE CHURCH. 57 

issue the manifesto which discontinued the practice of plural 
marriage. At the semi-annual conference in October follow- 
ing, the action of President Woodruff was sustained by unani- 
mous vote of the conference, and plural marriages were discon- 
tinued in the Church. In the matter of plural marriage, the 
Latter-day Saints are neither responsible for its introduction 
nor for its discontinuance. The Lord commanded its practice 
and in the face of the sentiment of ages, and in opposition to 
the teachings of their own traditions, many of the Saints 
obeyed the commandment, and in the midst of weakness, diffi- 
culties and dangers sought to carry out that law as revealed to 
them. For about half a century they maintained its practice 
in the face of opposition sufficient to appall the stoutest hearts. 
They defended it in the public press, proclaimed it from the 
pulpit, debated it on the platform with all who chose to assail 
it, and practiced it in their lives, notwithstanding fines and im- 
prisonments threatened; and when the power of the govern- 
ment was vigorously employed to enforce its laws against the 
institution, hundreds of men cheerfully endured both fines and 
imprisonment rather than be untrue to it. A whole genera- 
tion had been born and had grown to manhood and woman- 
hood in this marriage system, and the affections of family ties 
were entwined with it. Then, under the pressure of suffering 
brought upon the people through the laws of the United States, 
the Lord permitted the President of The Church to proclaim its 
discontinuance. The Saints submitted, and there the matter 
rests. If the labors and sufferings of The Church of Christ for 
this principle have done nothing more, this much at least has 
been accomplished — the Saints have borne testimony to the 
truth. And it is for God to vindicate His own law and open 
the way for its establishment on the earth, which doubtless He 
will do when His kingdom shall come in power, and when His 
will shall be done in earth as it is in heaven. 



58 THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION, 



THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 

It has already been said that the Saints believe in the same 
organization that existed in the primitive church of Christ, 
viz: apostles, prophets, pastors, etc., etc.; but in consequence 
of the incompleteness of the early Christian annals, the descrip- 
tion of that ancient organization exists only in the merest out- 
line, and under the present heading I propose to describe The 
Church organization as it has been developed not only through 
the knowledge that may be obtained in the New Testament 
Scriptures, but with that knowledge supplemented by the reve- 
lations which God gave through the prophet Joseph Smith. 

The Church organization grows out of the Priesthood. 
Priesthood is power which God delegates to man, by which man 
is authorized to act in the name or authority of God. It 
makes him the legally appointed agent of God, and so long as he 
performs his official acts in accordance with the laws of the 
Priesthood — by which I mean the regulations which God pre- 
scribes for it — it is as valid as if it were done by the Lord 
Himself. It is from this, Priesthood, I say again, that the 
Church officers and the Church organization arise. While of 
necessity there is a unity of this power, that is it is one power, 
yet in the exercise of its functions divisions are recognized. 
First, a division into what are called respectively, the Melchisedek 
and the Aaronic Priesthood. The former is the greater, and de- 
voted more especially to spiritual things; while the latter has 
most to do with temporal concerns. The officers of the higher 
or Melchisedek Priesthood are : Apostles, Patriarchs, High Priests, 
Seventies, Elders: The officers of the Aaronic or lesser Priest- 
hood are: Bishops, Priests, Teachers, Deacons. 

Another distinction may be recognized based on division of 
work, viz: the Foreign Ministry and the Home Ministry. The 



THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 59 

Foreign Ministry consists of the Twelve Apostles and the 
quorums of Seventy. The Home Ministry consists of the High 
Priests, the Elders, and all the officers of the Lesser Priesthood 

First Presidency. 

Three presiding High Priests chosen by the body, appointed 
and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith 
and prayers of The Church, form the quorum of the Presidency 
of The Church. The Presidency presides over The Church uni- 
versal, in all of its departments and divisions; over both 
the Melchisedek and the Aaronic Priesthood; over the Foreign 
Ministry and the Home Ministry of The Church. In it inheres 
all the powers of ecclesiastical government, legislative, judicial, 
and administrative. The first of the three Presidents is recog- 
nized as the President of The Church, its Prophet, its Seer, its 
Revelator, the Mouthpiece of God to the people, Christ's Vice- 
gerent on earth; the one and the only one authorized in the 
government of The Church to receive the revelations of God 
for The Church; which revelations constitute the law of The 
Church. Hence the remark that legislative power inheres in 
this Presidency. From all ecclesiastical judicial courts or 
councils of The Church (with the exception of decisions rendered 
by the quorum of the Twelve Apostles when acting abroad in 
their capacity as a Traveling High Council), there lies an appeal 
to the First Presidency of The Church. Hence the remark that 
judicial powers inhere in the First Presidency. The exercise of 
universal administrative functions extending to all the depart- 
ments of The Church government, to all affairs abroad, and all 
affairs at home, justifies the remark that universal administra- 
tive power inheres in the First Presidency. The First Presi- 
ency, then, is the recognized head of The Church in all things. 

The Twelve Apostles. 

The Twelve Apostles labor under the immediate direction of 
the First Presidency. They constitute a Traveling Presiding 
High Council, and so plenary are their judicial powers that when 
acting abroad in that capacity there is no appeal from their de- 



60 THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 

cisions. Their specific calling is to be special witnesses of the 
name of Christ in all the world, with power to build up The 
Church and regulate all the affairs of the same in all nations. 
The work of the Foreign Ministry more especially comes under 
their immediate jurisdiction, yet their high authority, when act- 
ing under the direction of the First Presidency, makes them 
competent to regulate the affairs of The Church both within the 
organized Stakes of Zion and abroad. As they posses 
authority equal to that of the First Presidency, in the event 
of the disorganization of the latter, through death or any 
other cause, the Apostles have power to do all] that the First 
Presidency could do. Hence in the history of The Church 
whenever the First Presidency has ceased to exist, the func- 
tions of that council of the Priesthood have been performed 
by the council of Apostles, until the First Presidency has been 
reorganized. 

The Seventies — Foreign Ministry. 

To assist the Twelve Apostles in the work of the Foreign 
ministry of the Church are the Quorums of Seventy. Their 
especial calling; in the main, is somewhat akin to that of the 
Apostles, viz: to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ in all 
the world and preachers of the gospel. They labor under the 
direction of the Twelve Apostles, and while other officers of 
the Priesthood may participate in the foreign ministry, still it 
is required by the law of The Church that the Twelve call upon 
the Seventy to fill the several callings for preaching and ad- 
ministering the gospel abroad instead of any others. The 
Seventy act under the direction, of the Twelve Apostles "in 
building up The Church and regulating all the affairs of the 
same in all nations." The organization of the quorum of 
Seventy consists of seven Presidents, whose powers of presi- 
dency are equal, and sixty-three members. The first quorum 
of Seventy possesses equal authority and power with the 
Twelve Apostles. The couucil of the First Seventy have a gen- 
eral presidency over all the quorum of Seventy in The Church, 
and upon them devolve the responsibility and labor of keep- 



THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 61 

ing these quorums fully organized by filling vacancies in the 
respective councils, as they occur, organizing new quorums 
and instructing them in the duties of their calling. At the 
time of this writing [1902] there are one hundred and forty- 
three Quorums of Seventy in The Church — making a body of 
men devoted to the foreign ministry of about ten thousand. 

Presiding Bishopric. 

The fourth general council of The Church is the Presidency 
over the Aaronic Priesthood. This is the Presiding Bishopric 
of The Church; and as the Aaronic Priesthood has to do more 
especially with temporal concerns, this Presiding Bishopric has 
a special jurisdiction over the temporal things of The Church; 
such as the collection of tithes and offerings of the people, a 
supervision of its property, the distribution of charities to 
the poor, and, in fact, whatsoever belongs to temporal mat- 
ters comes under the purview of the Bishop's office. This 
Bishopric of right belongs to a descendant of the house of 
Aaron, but when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found 
then the duties of this office may be performed by a High Priest 
of the Melchisedek order, assisted by two counselors who are 
also High Priests. Such is the presiding Bishopric of the 
Church. 

The Standing Ministry of The Church. 

The High Priests and Elders with the lesser priesthood con- 
stitute the standing ministry of The Church. From the ranks 
of the high priests are chosen the Patriarchs, Presidents of 
Stakes, High Councilors, Bishops and their Counselors. 

Stake Organization. 

A stake of Zion is a territorial division of The Church that 
embraces several wards and branches. 

Stake Presidency: — The stake is presided over by a Presi- 
dent who is a High Priest, assisted by two other High Priests 
as counselors; and these three constitute the Presidency of the 
stake, and preside over all the organizations in that stake, 



62 THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 

much in the same way that the President of the Church pre- 
sides over the entire Church; but subject of course, to the gen- 
eral authorities of the Church. 

High Council: — In each stake is a Standing High Council 
over which the Presidency of the stake preside. When for 
any cause the whole Presidency cannot be present at the council 
the President or either one of his counselors may preside. This 
forms the highest ecclesiastical judicial tribunal in the stake. 
It is a court of both original and appellate jurisdiction, and to 
it appeals lie from the Bishop's court, which will be described 
later. 

Patriarchs: — In each stake of Zion one or more Patriarchs 
are ordained by the Apostles. It is the function of their 
Priesthood to pronounce blessings upon the heads of the people, 
and more especially to bless those who are fatherless. To 
them is given the power by the inspiration of the Lord to desig- 
nate the lineage of the Saints, and in their blessings point out 
the possibilities to which they can attain through their faith- 
fulness. 

High Priests and Elders: — All the High Priests within the 
stakes of Zion are gathered into a quorum of High Priests, 
and all the Elders of a stake are also organized into quorums. 
Ninety-six Elders constitute a quorum, so that while in 
the stake there is but one quorum of High Priest, there may be 
several quorums of Elders. 

Ward Organization: — The stakes of Zion are divided into 
ecclesiastical wards, each presided over by a bishopric con- 
sisting of three High Priests, one of whom is ordained a Bishop 
and the other two his counselors. The ward Bishopric has a 
direct general presidency over all the quorums of the lesser 
Priesthood in the ward. The Bishopric also presides over those 
holding the higher Priesthood as members of his ward, but not 
over the quorums of the higher Priesthood as such. The bishopric 
constitutes an ecclesiastical court before which offenders 
against the laws of the gospel may be tried, witnesses sum- 
moned for and against the accused, all of which is made a 



THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 63 

matter of record. In the event of the decision of this court 
not being satisfactory, an appeal lies, as already remarked, to 
the High Council of the stake, in which the ward is located, 
and from that high council, under certain restrictions and con- 
ditions to the First Presidency of the Church. Of course, the 
penalties that may be inflicted upon the offenders against the 
laws of the Church are ecclesiastical in their nature and con- 
sist in suspension from the privilege of Church communion, 
or the more dreadful punishment of excommunication. In the 
latter case the person condemned loses his membership in the 
Church. Of course, to those who hold lightly their standing in 
the Church, suspension of fellowship or excommunication has 
no special terror; but to a man of faith no greater punishment 
can threaten him. He remembers that the Lord has said: 
"Woe unto them who are cut off from my church, for the same 
are overcome of the world." (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 50; 8.) And 
again, "Inasmuch as ye are cut off by transgressions, ye 
cannot escape the buffetings of Satan, until the day of re- 
demption" (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 104; 9). 

Priests: — To aid the Bishops in their duties are the quorums 
of Priests, Teachers, and Deacons in each ward. The duty of 
the Priest is to visit the homes of the Saints, to expound the 
scriptures to them, baptize believers and administer the sacra- 
ment. Forty-eight Priests form a quorum of which the 
Bishopric is the presidency. 

Teachers: — The duty of the Teachers is to be the standing 
ministers in the respective wards where they reside, to ferret 
out iniquity in The Church and see that the members perform 
their duties. Twenty-four Teachers constitute a quorum, which 
is presided over by a president and two counselors chosen from 
among the Teachers. 

Deacons: — The duty of the Deacons is to assist the Teachers 
and they may also expound, teach, warn and invite all to come 
unto Christ. Twelve Deacons constitute a quorum, and from 
their number a president and two counselors are chosen to 
preside. 



64 THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 

Auxiliary Organizations. 

In addition to this elaborate organization of The Church 
proper, there exists a number of auxiliary organizations. 

The Relief Societies, which, as their name implies, are especi- 
ally engaged in relieving the distress of the poor and home- 
less, the sick and the afflicted. 

The Sabbath Schools, most elaborate organizations, exist in 
every ward and branch of The Church for the instruction of the 
children of the Saints, and all who can be induced to come to 
them. 

The Young Men's and Young Women's Mutual Improvement 
Associations, together with Religion Classes are organizations 
that are designed especially for the spiritual and moral im- 
provement of the youth. 

Primary Associations are organized in every ward, in which 
kindergarten and other exercises are given for the benefit of 
the children during the week. 

Thus every arrangement is made for the instruction and up- 
lifting of the youth of the Saints, and every educational means 
employed for their development intellectually, morally and 
spiritually. The world never made a greater mistake than 
when it supposed that ignorance was the force through which 
the "Mormon" Church sought to hold her people; from the 
commencement she has carried on her work through the intelli- 
gent consent of her members, and has exercised her powers by 
imparting knowledge, and the manifestations of love unfeigned 
for her children. In the pursuance of her policy of governing 
through knowledge, The Church now has in progress of develop- 
ment a most elaborate Church School System, consisting of 
The Church University located in Salt Lake City, and a num- 
ber of academies in various parts of her territory, which it is 
the ambition of the Saints to see become recognized as among 
the highest institutions of learning in our land. 



PRESENT STATUS OP THE CHURCH. 65 



PRESENT STATUS OF THE CHURCH. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organ- 
ized on the 6th day of April, 1830, with six members; in six 
months it had increased its membership to about seventy; it 
now (1902) has a membership in the organized stakes of Zion 
of several hundred thousands, and more than fifty thousand in 
the various missions. In the stakes of Zion are eighty-five 
thousand children under eight years of age. 

The latest reports concerning the number of men holding the 
Priesthood in the Church show that there are three of the 
First Presidency; twelve Apostles; two hundred Patriarchs; 
6,800 High Priests; 9,730 Seventies; 20,000 Elders, a total 
who bear the Melchisedek Priesthood of 36,745; while 25,700 
bear the Lesser Priesthood, making a grand total of those who 
hold the Priesthood of 62,445. 

In the auxiliary organizations of the Church there are 
30,150 members of the Relief Society; 10,000 officers and 
115,000 members in the Sunday Schools; 28,000 members of 
the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations; 36,000 
of the Young Ladies Improvement Associations; 25,000 
members of the Primary Associations, with about 20,000 who 
belong to the Religion Classes; making a total of 264,150 
belonging to these auxiliary organizations. 

As a people the Saints are thriving and prosperous, and are 
continually extending their settlements throughout the inter- 
mountain region from the Province of Alberta, Canada, in the 
North, to the northern states of Old Mexico. They have 
20,000 farms, 18,000 of which are free from mortgages and 
encumbrances; and ninety per cent of the whole Church mem- 
bership own their own homes, while the average number of 
people who own their homes in the United States is something 
like five per cent. It has ever been the policy of the Church 



66 PRESENT STATUS OF THE CHURCH. 

leaders to beget in their people an ambition to own their homes 
and the lands they cultivate, and avoid debt; the wisdom of 
which policy is unquestionably vindicated in the above showing.* 

In addition to their material prosperity it can be said for the 
Latter-day Saints that they are equally prosperous spiritually. 
Peace is in their habitations. God is honored at their family 
altars, as well as in their public sanctuaries. Faith and confi- 
dence in God abound on every hand; and everywhere one may 
see evidence that God is with the people. Such are the con- 
ditions that exist in the organized stakes of Zion. 

The foreign work of the Church occupies much of the atten- 
tion of the presiding authorities. Recognizing that a dispen- 
sation of the gospel has been committed unto the Church, and 
that it cannot escape condemnation if it fails to make procla- 
mation to the world of the truths committed to it, the Elders 
of Israel have been most devoted in the work of foreign propa- 
gandism. Missions have been established in the following 
countries, and tens of thousands from these nations have been 
brought to the gathering place of the Church: the United 
States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Den- 
mark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Austria, Iceland, Italy, 
Switzerland, Jersey Island, Hindostan, Malta, Cape of Good 
Hope, Mexico, Canada, among a number of Indian tribes in the 
Western States and Territories of the United States, Sandwich 
Islands, Samoa, Friendly Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, 
Palestine; and recently missions have been opened in the 
empire of Japan and the republic of Guatemala, Central 
America. The proclamation of the gospel in these lands is 
much, but it is not all that the Church hopes to achieve in the 
work of her foreign ministry. It is regarded as the mis- 
sion of the Church to continue this proclamation of the gospel 
until the commandment given to her in the commencement of 
her existence shall have been complied with, viz: That this 



* For the above statistical information I am indebted to the painstaking 
labor of Elder Rudger Clawson of the council cf the Apostles; who pub- 
lished the above facts in the ''Improvement Era" for March, 1902, under the 
title "Growth of the Church," pages 378-381. 



PRESENT STATUS OF THE CHURCH. 67 

gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed to every nation, and 
kindred and tongue, and people, until it shall have been 
preached as a witness in all the world that the end may come; 
that the righteous may all be saved and the ungodly be visited 
by the judgments of God which are decreed against them. 

This, then, is "Mormonism" — this The Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-day Saints. She declares a new dispensation of the 
gospel of Jesus Christ. Not a new religion, but a new dispen- 
sation of the old religion; a dispensation made necessary 
because of the world's departure from the true Christian 
religion. A dispensation made necessary because the authority 
of God was taken from among men, they having rendered them- 
selves unworthy of it. A dispensation made necessary because 
neither the gospel nor The Church of Jesus Christ was in the 
earth; and hence both had to be restored by opening again 
the heavens and giving to men a new revelation of God's will, 
a new dispensation of His authority. 

The Church founded by these revelations teaches the 
knowledge of the true God, and calls mankind to worship Him 
"that made heavens and earth, and the sea, and the 
fountains of waters" (Rev. ch. 14; 6, 7). She teaches the true 
relationship between man and God. She teaches the true 
gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness, the sacraments of which 
she administers by divine authority for the salvation of both 
the living and the dead. 

Her organization is the same as The Church of former 
times, the main outlines of which may be traced in the New 
Testament, consisting of Apostles, and Prophets, Seventies, 
Elders, Bishops, Teachers, Deacons, etc. — "the whole body 
fitly joined together and compacted by that which every 
joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the 
measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the 
edifying of itself in love." (Eph. 4; 16). 

The spirit of her government is of the same order manifested 



68 PRESENT STATUS OP THE CHURCH. 

in the precept and example of the Master — having the source 
of its power in knowledge, in patience, in love unfeigned. 

The Church has a message for the world. Unto her is as 
signed the duty of crying repentance to men and warning the 
inhabitants of the earth of the judgments of God which will 
overtake the wicked w T hen the Lord Jesus shall appear in the 
glory of His Father to reward every man according to his 
works. To her has been assigned the duty of preparing 
the earth for the glorious appearance of the Lord Jesus 
Christ — her message is — Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is 
at hand. 



LBJe'04 



MORMONISM 

ITS 
ORIGIN AND HISTORY 



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BY >s. ^ -ae -s& 

LH.ROBERT5 



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